Key Highlights
- Bernstein upgraded Robinhood (HOOD) with a new price target of $160, up from $130, while keeping its Outperform rating
- Shares rebounded to $102.25 during pre-market trading after finishing at $99.96 on July 17
- Analysts project prediction markets will emerge as the company’s fastest-expanding segment, generating $1.7B annually by 2028
- The launch of Robinhood Chain, built on Arbitrum’s layer-2 infrastructure, establishes groundwork for tokenized asset expansion
- Second-quarter results scheduled for July 29, with analysts projecting $1.27B in quarterly revenue
Investment firm Bernstein announced an upgraded price target for Robinhood Markets (HOOD) on Monday, lifting its forecast to $160 from a previous $130, as the brokerage firm expands into prediction markets and blockchain-based equity tokenization.
Shares of HOOD climbed to approximately $102.25 during early trading hours following a Friday close of $99.96 on July 17, marking a pre-market increase of about 2.29%. Bernstein’s updated target implies potential upside exceeding 60% from the prior week’s closing price.
Lead analyst Gautam Chhugani maintained his Outperform recommendation while emphasizing that emerging business verticals will power accelerated revenue and profit expansion through the end of the decade.
According to Chhugani’s projections, the company’s revenue will expand at a 32% compound annual growth rate between 2026 and 2028, while EBITDA is expected to surge at 47% and earnings per share at a 49% CAGR. The analyst derived the $160 price objective using a 35x forward earnings multiple applied to a 2028 EPS forecast of $4.56.
The prediction markets vertical is anticipated to lead growth metrics, with Chhugani estimating $1.7 billion in segment revenue by 2028 ā representing a 64% compound annual expansion rate. This trajectory is partially attributed to the Rothera exchange, a collaborative venture with Susquehanna International Group that evolved from the LedgerX acquisition completed in December 2025.
Following its May 2026 launch of event contracts, Rothera now represents 16% of all event contracts traded on the platform. The company simultaneously offers Kalshi contracts to its customer base, creating dual exposure to the prediction markets ecosystem.
Blockchain-Based Assets Represent Strategic Opportunity
Bernstein highlighted tokenized securities as a significant future revenue stream, emphasizing Robinhood Chain ā the firm’s custom Arbitrum-based layer-2 blockchain ā as the foundational technology for tokenized real-world assets.
Research from the firm suggests that blockchain-based real-world assets will expand from approximately $35 billion in current market value to a range of $2 trillion to $4 trillion by decade’s end. Tokenized equity products are positioned to capture growing market share as adoption extends beyond government securities and private lending instruments.
The tokenization sector is attracting increasing institutional participation. On Monday, Alpaca and Broadridge Financial Solutions revealed they had incorporated shareholder governance capabilities into Alpaca’s Instant Tokenization Network. In a separate development last week, Securitize partnered with Cantor Fitzgerald to build infrastructure supporting blockchain-enabled initial public offerings.
Second Quarter Results Due July 29
Bernstein indicated that second-quarter performance should align with Street estimates, with prediction market revenues compensating for subdued cryptocurrency trading activity.
Digital asset markets have experienced weakness, with Bitcoin trading near $64,600 and struggling to break through resistance above $65,000 for more than 30 days.
The company will release its Q2 financial results on July 29. Consensus estimates call for quarterly revenue of $1.27 billion.
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