Roku rises after analyst raises its price target due to customer growth

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

People pass by a video sign display with the logo for Roku, a Fox-backed video streaming firm, that held it’s IPO at the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York, September 28, 2017.

Roku shares will turn around after a disappointing start this year, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets

The firm raised its price target to $54 from $44 for Roku shares, representing 12 percent upside to Monday’s close. The firm reiterated its overweight rating for the company, citing positive data from a consumer survey.

The company sells streaming video players and licenses its operating system to television manufacturers, which enables consumers to watch video content over the internet.

“We continue to recommend buying ROKU. Checks from Key First Look Data of ~6,000 Roku customers in June suggest further acceleration in customer growth; search volume backs this up,” analyst Evan Wingren said in a note to clients Monday. “We see it as a unique platform play on the growth in long-form, streaming ideo, with a strong competitive position and improving fundamentals. Its purpose-built TV operating system, OEM relationships, growing platform, and early content efforts set it up for long-term value creation, in our view, as streaming video continues to see adoption globally.”

The company’s shares rose 3.3 percent Tuesday. Roku’s stock is down 7 percent so far this year through Monday versus the S&P 500’s 5 percent gain.

The analyst said search volume for Roku in the U.S. rose 18 percent year over year in the second quarter.

“We view search volume trends as a good anecdotal indicator of the health of consumer interest for Roku,” he said. “The Roku Channel has gained momentum, as well. All in, we’re raising our estimates and price target on increased confidence in the short- and long-term potential for Roku.”

The Roku channel is the company’s own video content offering on its hardware platform.