CoinDesk 2025-07-08 12:17:09

Semler Scientific Gets Buy Rating From Benchmark, $101 Price Target on Bitcoin Treasury Pivot

Benchmark's Mark Palmer initiated coverage of Semler Scientific (SMLR) with a buy rating and a $101 price target, citing the company’s dramatic pivot from medical diagnostics to bitcoin (BTC) accumulation as a key value driver. Semler, which spent over 15 years focused on chronic disease detection, adopted bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset in May last year. The move made it only the second U.S.-listed firm, after Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR), to adopt bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. Since then, the company has acquired roughly 4,636 BTC for $430 million, with an average cost basis of $92,753 per bitcoin, the report said. Palmer noted that the stock rallied 178% in the six and a half months following its Bitcoin Standard announcement, peaking at $81.56 in December 2024. However, the analyst argued that Semler still trades at a steep discount compared to bitcoin treasury peers. Its multiple of net asset value (mNAV) sits at 1.25, compared to 4.29 for Japan-based Metaplanet (3350) and 6.45 for France’s Blockchain Group (ALTBG), the analyst noted. Benchmark believes this gap could close. Management recently appointed Joe Burnett as Director of Bitcoin Strategy and outlined bold BTC accumulation targets: 10,000 BTC by end of 2025, 42,000 by end of 2026, and 105,000 by end of 2027. The report notes that resolving legal and regulatory headwinds from Semler’s legacy healthcare business, including a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation and Medicare reimbursement uncertainties, could help lift its valuation further. Benchmark’s $101 price target is based on a sum-of-the-parts valuation that assumes bitcoin will hit $225,000 by year-end 2026. Read more: Semler Scientific Trades at Premium to Bitcoin Holdings for First Time in Three Weeks