Robinhood Securities has obtained regulatory approval to operate as an IPO underwriter, allowing the brokerage to move beyond distributing shares and into the group of firms that help bring companies public. The announcement was made by CEO Vlad Tenev on X, who stated the approval is the next stage of Robinhood's IPO strategy and reflects the growing importance of retail allocation since the launch of IPO Access in 2021. Tenev did not specify which regulator granted the approval, though U.S. underwriting activities typically fall under oversight from the SEC and FINRA.
The news comes less than a week after Robinhood completed its $180 million acquisition of WonderFi, which added Canadian exchanges Bitbuy and Coinsquare and approximately 300,000 funded customer accounts. Meanwhile, a report by Talos and Coin Metrics noted that on-chain pre-IPO futures are increasingly functioning as a price discovery tool, with SpaceX-related contracts on Hyperliquid generating billions in trading volume.
HOOD shares surged nearly 7% on Wednesday, driven by bullish analyst commentary. Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $108 from $105, citing a monthly high of 3.9 billion prediction-market contracts in May — a 22% increase from April and well above the firm's 6% growth forecast. Equity trading volume rose 27% month-on-month, and options activity increased 3%, both hitting their second-highest monthly levels. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its Overweight rating and increased its price target to $110 from $100, highlighting Robinhood's Rothera joint venture with Susquehanna. The venture operates a prediction-market exchange, allowing Robinhood to capture exchange-level revenues previously ceded to third parties. Cantor estimates the venture could boost Robinhood's revenue by roughly 2% in 2026, 3% in 2027, and 4% in 2028, with corresponding earnings-per-share increases.
