In premarket trading on Tuesday, Robinhood Markets HOOD +14.00 percent slumped after Sam Bankman-Fried stated his cryptocurrency exchange FTX was not in discussions to purchase the online broker.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that FTX was considering how to acquire Robinhood.

Ft. Worth, Texas-based Bankman-Fried, who founded FTX and serves as its CEO, stated in May that he had purchased a 7.6 percent investment in Robinhood.

He expressed his enthusiasm for Robinhood’s future in a statement released on Monday, saying, “That being said, there are no current M&A negotiations with Robinhood.”

Robinhood did not respond to questions.

On Monday, Robinhood’s stock jumped more than 14% to $9.12, but by early Tuesday it had fallen 3.6% to $8.79.

According to FactSet, Robinhood has a market value of about $7 billion.

After going public at $38 a share less than a year ago, there have been rumblings about a potential sale of Robinhood. The stock price has fallen by 76% since then, generating speculation that the business may be acquired.

According to Dan Dolev, a senior fintech and payments analyst at Mizuho, Robinhood owed $9.5 billion as of March 31.

Dolev downplayed rumors that FTX may buy Robinhood outright. This suggests that no present merger discussions are taking place and that FTX is interested in Hood’s business potential, according to a message Monday from the company’s chief executive officer.

Robinhood’s co-founders, CEO Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt combined hold more than 50 percent of the firm and would need to agree to continue forward in any M&A process, Dolev pointed out.

There is a significant chance that Hood might benefit from a prospective merger or acquisition, as it expands its reach and breadth. According to Dolev, the company has a Buy rating and a $14 price target. “We also feel that Hood can grow on its own,” he added in a statement.

At the beginning of the day, Goldman Sachs analyst Will Nance upgraded Robinhood’s recommendation from “Sell” to “Neutral,” citing the company’s current price as nearing its cash worth. Rather than targeting $11.50, he decreased it to $9.50.

There have been seven acquisitions made by FTX and its partner FTX.US between the two businesses, a spokesperson stated. While FTX.US acquired stock clearinghouse Embed Financial Technologies on June 21, FTX.Canada agreed to purchase Canadian exchange Bitvo earlier this month. In addition, FTX is providing BlockFi with a $250 million credit facility.

Since its inception in 2013, Robinhood has offered no-commission stock and other investment trading. There are market makers like Citadel Securities and Wolverine Execution Services, according to the company’s most recent annual report. G1X Execution Services is also mentioned.

The post After Sam Bankman-fried Said His Cryptocurrency Exchange Was Not in Talks to Acquire the Online Broker, Robinhood Markets Fell. appeared first on Best Stocks.