Roku Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) is likely to face a near-term hiccup but is better positioned the medium- and long-term, according to a Needham analyst. The Roku Analyst: Laura Martin has a Buy rating on Roku shares with a $150 price target. The Roku Thesis: COVID-19's negative impact on Roku will be at its worst in the second quarter, but the impact will mitigate as 2020 wears on, Martin said in a Thursday note. (See her track record here.)Hours streamed will be strong again in the second quarter, likely rising 46% year-over-year, and year-over-year active account growth is expected to accelerate from 37% from the first quarter to 39% in the second quarter, the analyst said. The weak spot is likely to be large ad categories such as autos, entertainment and travel, with year-over-year growth likely slowing from 108% in the first quarter to 38% in the second quarter, she said. Needham lowered its 2020 revenue estimates for Roku and raised its 2021 revenue estimate.The changes are being made on the expectation that COVID-19 will accelerate the ad spending shift toward ConnectedTV away from linear TV as consumer spending and economic growth return, Martin said. The firm eMarketer now estimates that brands will hold back up to $7 billion in the upfront TV market, making these ad dollars available to Roku between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2021, the analyst said. Despite TCL launching its first Android TVs in the U.S., Martin said she expects TCL's Roku TVs to continue being the appliance company's bestselling connected TVs in the U.S."Roku had 45% (40mm of 88mm) of total connected TV homes in the US at 3/31/20, and therefore we believe Roku will be the winning aggregator of streaming TV and film content apps."Roku has valuation upside from its market cap of about $14 billion, according to Needham. ROKU Price Action: Roku shares were up 6.29% at $124.70 at the time of publication. Related Link: Here's How Much Investing ,000 In Roku's 2017 IPO Would Be Worth Today Photo courtesy of Roku. Latest Ratings for ROKU DateFirmActionFromTo May 2020Stephens & Co.DowngradesOverweightEqual-Weight May 2020WedbushMaintainsNeutral May 2020RBC CapitalMaintainsOutperform View More Analyst Ratings for ROKU View the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga * Why Shares of Alpine Immune Sciences Are Rallying * The Daily Biotech Pulse: Eloxx Resumes Cystic Fibrosis Study, Rexahn's Reverse Merger, Ultragenyx, Epizyme Await FDA Decisions * Novavax Beefs Up Executive Team As It Sprints In The Coronavirus Vaccine Race(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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The Corcoran Group Founder and Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank Barbara Corcoran joins Yahoo Finance’s Zack Guzman to break down her thoughts on Nikola as the company takes on Tesla.(Bloomberg) — Trading in Hertz Global Holdings Inc. was halted for pending news as investors speculated on whether the bankrupt car renter will have to revise its plan to raise cash by selling new shares.Hertz shares were down 4.5% to $1.91 in New York before the halt, which came a day after the company suspended the effort to raise as much as $500 million. The bankrupt car renter sought to take advantage of a rally in its shares after it filed for court protection in May, even as it repeatedly warned would-be buyers that the new stock was potentially worthless.The company is dealing with questions brought up by Securities and Exchange Commission officials, according to a filing yesterday. A representative for Hertz didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.