TD Cowen has raised its price target for The Smarter Web Company to £0.73 per share from £0.64, retaining a buy rating after the UK-listed company proposed issuing perpetual preferred shares under the ticker MORE.
The new target, equivalent to about $0.99, represents roughly 90% upside from The Smarter Web Company’s £0.385 closing share price on Monday, according to London Stock Exchange data. The stock had risen 1.32% from Friday’s £0.38 close.
Cowen’s higher valuation centers on a proposed preferred-share initial public offering that could give Smarter Web another route to raise capital while leaving ordinary shareholders’ voting structure unchanged. The proposal remains conditional on shareholder approval and the Financial Conduct Authority’s approval of a prospectus.
Preferred shares would create another funding channel
The proposed MORE securities would be perpetual preferred shares, meaning they would not have a scheduled maturity date like a conventional bond. Smarter Web said last week that the shares are expected to pay cumulative, variable-rate dividends weekly.
A cumulative dividend feature generally means unpaid dividends would accrue rather than disappear, subject to the final terms of the offering. The variable-rate structure means the payout would not be fixed in the same way as a traditional preferred share, potentially making the security more responsive to the company’s financing conditions and the eventual prospectus terms.
Smarter Web also said the MORE shares are expected to carry a liquidation preference and redemption rights. A liquidation preference gives preferred shareholders priority over ordinary equity holders in a liquidation, although they would remain behind creditors. Redemption rights could allow the company or holders to redeem shares under conditions that would be set out in the final documentation.
The proposed securities would not carry shareholder voting rights, according to the company. That feature could make MORE an appealing funding mechanism for management if it wants to expand its capital base without issuing more voting ordinary shares. It also means buyers of the preferred instrument would be purchasing an income-oriented security with a defined priority structure rather than governance influence.
No timetable for shareholder approval or FCA clearance was included in the company materials cited.
Treasury performance featured in Cowen’s case
TD Cowen also cited The Smarter Web Company’s Bitcoin treasury metrics in its note. The company reported BTC yield of approximately 11.5% year to date through Sept. 2.
BTC yield is a company-specific treasury metric intended to show the change in Bitcoin held per diluted share over a period. It is not the same as the market return on Bitcoin and can be affected by changes in share count, financing activity, Bitcoin purchases and sales, and corporate transactions.
Smarter Web said its year-to-date figure had faced a roughly 420-basis-point headwind from repaying its TOBAM convertible on July 23. The repayment required the sale of about 178 Bitcoin, according to the company.
That transaction illustrates the pressure that debt-linked instruments can place on a Bitcoin treasury strategy. A convertible financing can provide capital during expansion, but repayment or conversion terms can force a company to sell assets or issue equity at a time not entirely of its choosing. Removing the TOBAM convert may simplify Smarter Web’s balance-sheet structure, while the proposed preferred shares would potentially replace part of the company’s financing flexibility with a new class of capital.
The preferred-share plan would also place a recurring dividend obligation alongside Smarter Web’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy. If completed, management would need to balance the cost of weekly preferred dividends against the potential benefits of deploying additional capital into the business, acquisitions, or treasury assets.
Cowen’s Bitcoin scenarios frame valuation range
TD Cowen’s valuation assumptions include a base-case Bitcoin price of about $100,000 by December. Its upside case puts Bitcoin at $175,000, while its downside scenario assumes a fall to $25,000.
Those figures underline how closely the brokerage’s outlook for Smarter Web remains tied to Bitcoin’s direction. Companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets can see their equity valuations move with both the value of their holdings and the market’s view of their ability to raise capital for further purchases.
The company’s shares traded at a substantial discount to Cowen’s updated target on Monday, but the gap does not by itself guarantee a re-rating. The preferred-share proposal must first clear corporate and regulatory approvals, and the eventual dividend formula, redemption mechanics, issue size, and use of proceeds could shape how the market evaluates the transaction.
Acquisition expectations remain part of the outlook
Cowen said it expects acquisition activity at The Smarter Web Company to gradually return to its fiscal 2025 pace. That expectation adds another component to the investment case beyond Bitcoin treasury management.
Acquisitions can expand a company’s operating base and diversify revenue sources, but they also require disciplined capital allocation. For Smarter Web, the proposed MORE shares could provide financing capacity without immediately diluting voting control. The trade-off is that preferred shareholders would gain priority over ordinary shareholders for dividends and liquidation proceeds.
The company has yet to publish final offering terms or a timetable for the MORE IPO. Until those details are available, the proposal remains a financing plan rather than a completed source of capital. TD Cowen’s increased target reflects its view that the structure could support Smarter Web’s strategy, while the final market response will depend on the cost and terms of that capital.
Curious how BTC moves could impact Smarter Web’s outlook? Explore Bitcoin’s 100K roadmap analysis for deeper market context.
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