What Happened?
Shares of financial services company Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) jumped 3.2% in the morning session after positive analyst coverage and the expansion of its prediction markets to include sports betting.
Truist Securities initiated coverage on the stock with a 'Buy' rating and set a price target of $155. In a separate move, Barclays raised its price target on Robinhood to $171 from $168 while keeping an 'Overweight' rating, anticipating constructive market conditions. The company also unveiled a significant expansion of its prediction markets by introducing features that allowed users to place parlay and prop bets on National Football League (NFL) games. This move aimed to engage users with pro football in new ways and was seen as a potential challenge to traditional sports betting platforms. This business segment has been a key growth area for Robinhood, with its prediction markets having already become the company's fastest-growing product line by revenue.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $119.90, up 3.3% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Robinhood’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 59 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock gained 2.8% on the news that the company hosted an event to unveil its prediction markets platform, which drew positive analyst commentary on the segment's growth potential.
At the "Robinhood Presents: YES/NO" event, the firm showcased new features for its platform. The move was met with optimism from analysts, with Mizuho maintaining its "Outperform" rating and a $172 price target. The firm noted Robinhood was on track for a $300 million run-rate in its prediction markets, citing strong growth. This expansion was also viewed as a potential entry into the sports betting arena, which could challenge existing players like DraftKings and FanDuel.
Adding to the positive sentiment, Barclays raised its price target on the stock to $171. The company also reported a notable increase in funded customers in November, reaching 26.9 million, indicating solid user engagement.
Robinhood is up 204% since the beginning of the year, but at $119.90 per share, it is still trading 21.4% below its 52-week high of $152.46 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Robinhood’s shares at the IPO in July 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $3,443.
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