Key insights
- Robinhood's stock surged on strong April operating data, showing growth in funded customers, platform assets, and trading volumes. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed its Buy rating. While Morgan Stanley's lower crypto trading fees pose a competitive threat, the market focused on Robinhood's overall positive momentum. The broader market's risk-on sentiment, despite sticky inflation, also contributed to the stock's rise.
Investing.com -- Robinhood Markets stock surged +6.12% in mid-day trading to reach $81.45, powered by the release of April 2026 monthly operating data that painted a picture of broad-based business momentum. Funded customers at the end of April reached 27.6 million — up approximately 110,000 from March and 1.65 million year-over-year — while total platform assets climbed to $345 billion, up 12% from March and 49% year-over-year, and net deposits totaled $6.0 billion for the month, representing a 23% annualized growth rate. Equity notional trading volumes rose 15% from March and 57% year-over-year, while options contracts traded were up 9% from March and 34% year-over-year.
On the analyst front, Deutsche Bank moved swiftly to reaffirm its constructive stance. Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating and $86.00 price target on HOOD, noting that April metrics trended in line with its Q2 EPS estimate of $0.43 per share — above the consensus of $0.40 — and that lower-than-expected crypto trading volume was offset by solid equities and options volumes and slightly better net interest income trends. The bank maintained its estimates and expressed a positive view on Robinhood’s product roadmap and its ability to generate organic asset and earnings growth. Meanwhile, a report highlighted that Morgan Stanley’s new cryptocurrency trading platform on ETrade is offering lower fees than competitors, including Robinhood — a competitive headwind that the market appeared to look past given the strength of the operating data.
The broader market environment provided a supportive backdrop for today’s move. The S&P 500 advanced +0.78%, the Dow Jones gained +0.79%, and the NASDAQ rose +0.92%, reflecting resilient risk appetite. The April CPI report, released earlier this week, showed consumer prices rising at a seasonally adjusted 0.6% for the month, putting the one-year pace at 3.8% — the highest since May 2023 — with core CPI up 0.4% monthly and 2.8% annually, keeping inflation well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. As one analyst noted, "Given that inflation is heading in the wrong direction and the labor market is holding up, it’s very unlikely that the Fed will be able to lower interest rates any time soon."
Taken together, Robinhood’s robust April operating metrics — particularly the acceleration in platform assets and net deposit growth — combined with Deutsche Bank’s reaffirmed Buy call gave investors a clear fundamental reason to bid shares higher today. Crypto notional trading volumes did soften sequentially, falling 33% from March, but this was viewed as manageable given the strength elsewhere in the business. With a broad analyst Buy consensus and the stock still well below its 52-week high of $153.86, today’s rally reflects a recalibration of sentiment around Robinhood’s Q2 earnings potential.
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