What happened

Shares of app-based stockbroker Robinhood Markets (HOOD 0.76%) rose 7.7% (through 2:20 p.m. EDT trading) Wednesday, the day it plans to release its first-ever earnings report as a publicly traded company. There's just one problem, though.

Robinhood hasn't actually told investors yet what it earned in the second quarter. The fintech company won't do so until after markets close for the day...but investors are bidding up Robinhood stock anyway.

Red 2021 with three arrows in a bullseye painted on the 0

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

Does that make sense?

It might. Yesterday, we learned that Redburn Research initiated coverage of Robinhood stock with a "buy" recommendation and a "fair value estimate" of more than $65 on the stock. As TheFly.com reports, Redburn sees 29% upside in Robinhood stock as the online trading firm grows its user base -- and grows the wealth of its users (growing the dollar volume of trading they do as a result).

Calling Robinhood a "disruptive fintech," Redburn also predicts that over time, Robinhood will expand beyond stock and cryptocurrency trading to offer new financial services to its customers, and also "export its model to overseas regions ripe for disrupt," thus creating even more avenues in which Robinhood can grow.

Now what

Is Redburn right about that? Perhaps. We'll get our first clue to how well Robinhood can fulfill this analyst's -- and investors' -- dreams of future growth when Q2 earnings come out this evening, and Robinhood stock either meets, beats, or misses analyst targets. Those targets are for Robinhood to lose $0.15 per share on sales of $521.8 million.