ROKU could be set for more volatility with earnings around the corner
Two growth stocks receiving positive analyst attention on Wall Street this morning are streaming technology expert Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) and low-cost gym operator Planet Fitness Inc (NYSE:PLNT). A brief breakdown of the bull notes on the shares of ROKU and PLNT is below.
ROKU was started with an "overweight" designation at Stephens, along with an $84 price target. The brokerage firm suggested the stock could stay volatile for a while, but sees the potential for it to triple or even quintuple in value in the coming years. Stephens likes Roku's "capital-light" position in the streaming video market and believes it can grow its user count in a meaningful way.
This update comes ahead of the company's post-close earnings release tomorrow, May 8. The company has reported earnings six times since going public back in 2017, and recent releases have sparked extreme volatility. In the last three quarters, the shares have swung at least 21% in either direction, and this time the options market is pricing in a roughly 22% move for Thursday's post-earnings session. Roku stock is trading down 0.2% at $65.58 this morning, but is up nearly 112.9% this year.
PLNT's bull note came from Macquarie, which upgraded its stance to "outperform" from "neutral" with an $85 price target. This follows an earnings sell-off last week that found familiar support at the 50-day moving average and was deemed a buying opportunity by another analyst.
Still, Planet Fitness stock is slightly lower this morning, last seen at $73.10. Interestingly, the shares' all-time high, reached on April 29, is $77.34, almost exactly in line with the average analyst price target of $77.33. The vast majority of firms in coverage on the security have "strong buy" ratings.