[Mizuho Maintains "Underperform" Rating on Circle, Lowers Price Target to $43] BlockBeats reports that on October 26, Mizuho Securities maintained its "Underperform" rating on Circle (CRCL) with a price target of $43, approximately 48.1% lower than the current share price of $82.87. Mizuho warned that AI assistants could drive users to higher-yielding and insurance-backed alternatives, weakening USDC's competitiveness. This is expected to put $4 billion to $9 billion of pressure on USDC's market capitalization and reduce Circle's reserve income by 10% to 20%. The firm also lowered its 2027 EBITDA forecast for Circle by approximately 5%. [Original Link]