Support.com Is a Speculative Cryptocurrency Play With a Bloated Valuation

This has been the year of the meme stock. Investing-focused ,online communities have flipped the script, going against virtually every norm of conventional investing. One darling of these retail investors, Support.com (NASDAQ:SPRT), has attracted a high level of short interest in the past couple of months.  SPRT stock, however, is remarkably overpriced, and it’s primarily a speculative crypto play.

This year has been nothing short of extraordinary for the owners of SPRT stock. The shares have gained a dumbfounding 435% in 2021. Moreover, over 25% of its stock has consistently been shorted in the last two months.

Support.com’s underlying business has been in the doldrums for a long time, but its foray into the crypto space has investors excited.

Specifically, its merger with blockchain services provider Greenidge Generation Holdings has been a needle mover for SPRT stock. Time will tell how successful its deal with Greenidge will be. But the shares are overvalued, and they’re only interesting as a short-term play.

The Merger

Back in March, Support.com signed a merger agreement with Greenidge Generation Holdings. As expected, the deal was subsequently approved by Support.com’s shareholders. The owners of SPRT stock and options will own 8% of the combined company, while Greenidge’s stockholders will own 92% of it.

Greenidge, which mines Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD), calls itself “the first 100% carbon-neutral Bitcoin transaction processor in the United States.” The carbon emissions problem has been a key issue in the crypto world, with much discussion of potential regulations and transitions to climate neutrality. For its part, Greenidge is working to become a planet-friendly alternative in the crypto space.

In May, Greenidge announced that its bitcoin mining facility in New York would become carbon neutral as of June 2. The company said that it would buy “carbon offsets” from “several U.S. greenhouse gas reduction projects.” Additionally, it will invest a portion of its profits in renewable energy projects.

Meanwhile, the global blockchain market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of  roughly 67.3% from 2020 to 2025. Such massive growth can enable Support.com’s future free cash flows to increase quickly.

After the merger, Greenidge expects its EBITDA to be more than $50 million in 2021, and its annual EBITDA run rate is slated to climb to $160 million by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Financial Positioning

In the past several years, Support.com’s financial performance has been dismal. Its revenue growth has dropped year-over-year since the first quarter of 2019.

In the company’s most recent reported quarter, its revenues declined by roughly 23.4% YOY. Moreover, its margins fell due to a steep increase in its operational expenses. Consequently, in Q2, its net loss came in at $800,000, compared to net income of $600,000 during the same period a year earlier.

One of Support.com’s main problems is that it relies on a small number of customers for most of its revenue. In 2020, 80% of the company’s sales were generated by just a couple of its customers.

Therefore, if a single client drops Support.com, it will lose a major portion of its revenue base. With this business model, it’s tough for Support.com to generate healthy free cash flows.

The Bottom Line on SPRT Stock

Over the past several years, Support.com’s security, technical support, and customer operations have struggled .

However, its pivot to cryptocurrencies could open the door to a potential turnaround of its fortunes. Due to meme-stock mania, however, Support.com trades at levels that are divorced from its fundamentals.

The shares’ pricing action will depend on the extent to which they remain a hit with meme-stock traders. However, the stock won’t be appealing to serious investors until it proves itself over the next few quarters.

On the date of publication, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines