Robinhood (HOOD) Stock Soars 17% Following Multiple Analyst Upgrades

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Shares of Robinhood climbed 16.6% on Thursday, finishing at $124.72, marking the highest closing price since early December.
Morgan Stanley elevated HOOD to Overweight with a new $150 price target; Scotiabank began coverage with a Sector Outperform rating and $136 target.
Piper Sandler increased its price objective to $145, highlighting robust prediction market activity ahead of football season.
Deutsche Bank lifted its HOOD target from $115 to $136, emphasizing Robinhood Chain as a significant catalyst.
Total Value Locked on Robinhood Chain surged 27% in one week to $840 million, with fee generation surpassing Ethereum, Solana, and other prominent networks in a 24-hour period.

Thursday proved to be an exceptional trading session for Robinhood shares, as the stock rocketed 16.6% higher to settle at $124.72. This marked the company’s strongest closing level since December 10, fueled by a wave of optimistic analyst assessments from leading Wall Street firms.

Robinhood Markets, Inc., HOOD

The positive momentum began when Morgan Stanley’s Michael Cyprys released his updated outlook on September 1, elevating HOOD from Equal-weight to Overweight while increasing his price forecast to $150 from $124. His thesis centers on the company’s ability to convert product diversification into enhanced customer profitability.

“Customer asset levels have climbed 23% compared to last year,” Cyprys noted, emphasizing that the expanded suite of offerings encourages users to consolidate their holdings with Robinhood as their portfolios mature.

Also on September 1, Scotiabank’s Lance Jessurun launched coverage with a Sector Outperform designation and a $136 price objective. Jessurun contends that investors continue to view Robinhood through an outdated lens as merely a discount brokerage, while the reality shows a company generating income from five separate categories, with four displaying reduced cyclicality compared to traditional trading fees.

Prediction Market Activity Emerges as Major Driver

Patrick Moley of Piper Sandler boosted his price target from $135 to $145 while maintaining an Overweight stance. He identified prediction market trading volumes as a particularly promising opportunity as NFL and college football seasons approach.

Moley’s baseline scenario anticipates Robinhood users will execute approximately 29.7 billion event contracts between September and December 2026, translating to roughly $320 million in prediction market-related revenue during that window.

Despite August typically representing a sluggish period for sports betting, volumes remained healthy, partially supported by World Cup activity. The upcoming football campaigns are anticipated to deliver substantially greater engagement.

Deutsche Bank joined the chorus of bullish voices, elevating its HOOD price target to $136 from $115. The firm highlighted Robinhood Chain, the company’s layer-2 blockchain infrastructure, as a notable source of potential upside.

Robinhood Chain Demonstrates Rapid Expansion

Despite launching under two months ago, the Robinhood Chain is already generating impressive metrics. Total Value Locked across the network increased nearly 27% during the past week to reach $840 million, based on DeFiLlama tracking data.

During the most recent 24-hour period, the blockchain generated $4.59 million in fees, exceeding the fee production of Ethereum, Solana, BNB, Avalanche, and multiple major layer-2 solutions including Base and Arbitrum.

Industry observer The Milk Road highlighted that when annualized, Robinhood Chain’s seven-day revenue performance positions it as the fourth-largest contributor among Robinhood’s 14 distinct revenue categories.

Separate from blockchain developments, Robinhood disclosed that users have placed approximately $150 million into recently launched trust accounts, with typical account balances exceeding $500,000.

The company’s premium tier, Robinhood Gold, reached an all-time high of 4.8 million paying subscribers during the second quarter.

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