Robinhood Markets (HOOD) attracted fresh investor interest on Monday after Bernstein raised its 12‑month price target on the stock to $160 from $130 and reiterated an Outperform rating. The note, authored by analyst Gautam Chhugani, sent shares modestly higher during the session, with HOOD trading around $100.49.
Bernstein’s bullishness is rooted in Robinhood’s accelerating push beyond traditional equities and crypto into what it calls “fast‑adopting” financial instruments. The firm cited prediction markets, perpetual futures, tokenized equities, and compute‑linked contracts as the next growth engines, estimating these verticals could tap a total fee pool exceeding $70 billion. To reflect this, Bernstein adjusted its valuation framework, using a 2028 earnings‑per‑share estimate of $4.56—above consensus—and maintained a 35‑times forward earnings multiple.
A standout projection is the forecast that prediction‑market revenue will overtake crypto trading revenue as soon as the second quarter. Bernstein models about $150 million in event‑contract revenue for Q2, while sharply cutting its 2026 crypto trading revenue estimate by 49%, describing the digital‑asset slowdown as cyclical. The Rothera exchange, launched in late May, has already processed more than 3.5 billion contracts, with World Cup markets accounting for roughly 93% of volume. Robinhood still operates a “frenemy” relationship with Kalshi, distributing its contracts while also offering in‑house event contracts through Rothera, which now represents 16% of Robinhood’s event‑contract activity.
Beyond event markets, Robinhood is also introducing AI‑powered trading agents. Through the new Agentic Trading feature and Model Context Protocol infrastructure, U.S. customers can now connect autonomous software that researches markets, builds portfolios, and executes trades in equities and options—with crypto support promised later. Users can mandate approval before any trade or allow fully automated execution.
Investors will get the next read on Robinhood’s strategy when the company reports second‑quarter earnings on July 29. Wall Street expects earnings of $0.55 per share and revenue of $1.27 billion, with the market watching whether prediction markets can compensate for softening crypto activity.
