Roku Customer Acceleration Turns KeyBanc Incrementally Bullish

Accelerating customer growth and strength could drive additional upside for Roku Inc ROKU, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets. 

The Analyst

KeyBanc’s Evan Wingren maintained an Overweight rating on Roku and raised the firm’s price target on the stock from $44 to $54.

The Thesis

Customer acceleration is likely in the second quarter, as growth has continued to rise even further since mid-quarter and could drive confidence in Roku's ability to exceed consensus expectations, Wingren said in a Monday note. (See the analyst's track record here.) 

“We expect more active accounts to drive higher platform revenue and gross profits," the analyst said. 

Search volume has increased 18 percent year-over-year, which could act as a good indicator of consumer interest in Roku, Wingren said. 

Roku’s ad-supported video-on-demand channel is seeing momentum and likely gaining adoption, which could be attributed to recent content additions, in KeyBanc's view. 

“Growth in The Roku Channel could accelerate ad inventory and drive gross profits above our expectations," Wingren said. 

Price Action

Roku shares were rallying 5.68 percent to $51 at the time of publication Tuesday. 

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Photo courtesy of Roku.