MicroStrategy (MSTR), led by Michael Saylor, has seen its stock price fall to a four-month low following a controversial update to its equity issuance policy and a broader downturn across public bitcoin treasury firms.
The stock is down 8% since Monday, paralleling an 8.6% decline in the price of bitcoin since last week’s all-time high.
Saylor updates equity guidance
On Monday, Saylor announced changes to MicroStrategy’s at-the-market (ATM) equity guidance, allowing the company more flexibility to issue shares even when MSTR trades below 2.5 times its net asset value (mNAV).
This marks a departure from previous policy, which limited such issuance to covering debt or preferred equity dividends.
New guidance
The new guidance states that MSTR can now issue shares to cover debt interest, pay preferred dividends, or whenever it is deemed advantageous.
At the time of publication, MicroStrategy’s mNAV stands at 1.55, well below the previous 2.5 threshold.
Some investors expressed frustration, calling it a reversal of the agreement made during the last earnings call.
One former shareholder commented:
“The head of the company said he wouldn’t sell below 2.5 mNAV, so I bought. He made this agreement with the shareholder at the live earnings release. And then he sold below mNAV 2.5.”
Community split over new direction
The announcement has divided opinion.
Some see it as a positive for bitcoin accumulation, while others believe it undermines prior commitments to shareholders.
Developer Endre Stolsvik argued the previous policy was impractical, given the current mNAV.
Broader treasury stock downturn
MicroStrategy’s decline reflects a wider trend. Other public bitcoin holders such as Marathon Digital (MARA), Coinbase (COIN), and Riot Platforms (RIOT) have also experienced significant stock price drops in the past month.
For a comprehensive view of public companies holding bitcoin, see the treasuries database.
MicroStrategy currently holds 629,376 BTC, valued at approximately $71.34 billion, making it the largest public corporate holder.
For detailed historical holdings, visit the MicroStrategy bitcoin holdings tracker.
