What happened
Shares of over-the-top (OTT) streaming video company Roku (ROKU 0.31%) jumped 5% out of the gate this morning and remain up a respectable 2.5% in 12:05 p.m. EDT trading.
If you own Roku stock, you can thank Loop Capital for that bump in stock price.
Image source: Roku.
So what
Chicago-based investment bank Loop raised its price target on Roku stock 33% this morning, from $90 a share to $120, reports TheFly.com, "citing the findings of [its own] ad industry survey." According to Loop, internet companies showed "strong results" last week, which could translate into strong results for Roku, too, when the company reports earnings later this week.
But here's the thing: Even at a raised price target of $120, Loop appears to be saying that Roku stock costs too much at its current valuation of nearly $159 a share. Between that high stock price and concerns over competition that Roku is facing, Loop declined to raise its rating on the shares, keeping Roku stock at neutral.
Now what
Is that the right call? Most analysts who cover the company see Roku reporting strong sales growth in fiscal Q2, despite competition from its many rivals. The average estimate right now is for revenue to come in 25% stronger in Q2 2020 than it did in Q2 2019. Despite this sales growth, however, analysts predict that Roku's losses will only increase -- more than quintuple, in fact, to a loss of $0.51 per diluted share.
We'll learn whether that's true or not in just 48 hours or so. Roku is scheduled to release its Q2 report after close of trading on Wednesday, Aug. 5.
