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Analysts Split On Roku, But One Names It 'Top Pick For 2025'

Benzinga·05/02/2025 16:27:04
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Shares of Roku Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKUfell in early trading on Friday despite the company’s upbeat first-quarter results on Thursday.

The announcement came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

Rosenblatt Securities On Roku

Analyst Barton Crockett reiterated a Neutral rating, while slashing the price target from $100 to $75.

Although Roku’s first-quarter results were positive, with 16% year-on-year revenue growth and 37% growth in adjusted EBITDA, they were near expectations, Crockett said in a note. The company expected revenue growth to decelerate to 11% in the second quarter, with a decline in the Devices business line, he added.

Management projected second-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $70 million, the analyst stated. While the deceleration in Devices "shouldn’t matter," the stock could continue trading at a lower multiple "in this environment," he further wrote.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Needham On Roku

Analyst Laura Martin maintained a Buy rating and price target of $88.50.

Roku reported strong quarterly results, with revenues of $1.02 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $56 million, above expectations, Martin said. The company reiterated its full-year Platform segment revenue guidance of $3.95 billion, up 12% year-on-year, she added.

While Roku’s underlying growth is likely to be mid-teens in 2025, revenue growth may decelerate slightly in the back half of the year due to tough comps, the analyst stated. "Roku is our top pick for 2025," he further wrote.

JPMorgan On Roku

Analyst Cory Carpenter reaffirmed an Overweight rating and price target of $75.

Roku's Platform revenues grew 17% in the first quarter, slightly exceeded the guidance of 16%, Carpenter said. Management reiterated full-year Platform growth of 12%, he added.

"We believe Roku is likely to be more resilient than before given its programmatic integrations, a more diversified Platform revenue base that relies less on M&E & direct scatter buys, and a mgmt team more focused on monetization," the analyst wrote.

Guggenheim Securities On Roku

Analyst Michael Morris reiterated a Buy rating and price target of $100.

Roku reported broadly in-line quarterly results and projected Platform revenue growth of 14% for the second quarter, higher than consensus of 13%, Morris said. The full-year guidance reflects contribution from the Frndly TV acquisition, he added.

The company expects to close the acquisition towards the end of the second quarter and for it to be adjusted EBITDA margin accretive in the first full year, the analyst stated. "Anticipate slight step down in 4Q Platform revenue growth due to tough comp (+19% in 4Q24)," he further wrote.

Benchmark On Roku

Analyst Daniel Kurnos reaffirmed a Buy rating and price target of $130.

Roku essentially kept its full-year guidance unchanged, "despite some overall pricing softness," Kurnos said. The pricing issues were more than offset by volume growth, he added.

Although the full-year guidance reflects contributions from an acquisition, the company is small and the deal will not even close until late in the second quarter, the analyst stated. "Yes, it is true that 1Q lacked the standard upside we have all come to expect on a current quarter, but the 2Q outlook was solid on platform across the board after factoring in a touch more gross margin sensitivity as mix shifts incrementally towards programmatic," he further wrote.

Wedbush On Roku

Analyst Alicia Reese maintained an Outperform rating and price target of $100.

Roku reported revenues of $1.021 billion, beating consensus of $1.007 billion, Reese said. "Roku maintained its 2025 EBITDA guidance and 2026 target for positive operating income, emphasizing its focus on profitable expansion," she added.

Roku is expanding its ARPU (average revenue per user) through increased ad inventory and enhanced targeting, the analyst stated.

Citizens On Roku

Analyst Matthew Condon reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating and price target of $95.

Our key takeaway is that Roku is not seeing any material impact on advertising demand from the "macro environment in 2Q, as it reiterated its 2025 platform revenue and EBITDA guidance," Condon said. Advertisers are shifting their spend to "non-guaranteed programmatic buying for increased flexibility and measurable ROI amid macro uncertainty" and Roku is well positioned to meet the increase in demand, he added.

"While this shift impacts platform gross profit margins in the near term, we believe Roku is tapping into incremental demand with its programmatic capabilities, which should benefit the company long term," the analyst further wrote.

ROKU Price Action: Shares of Roku had declined by 6.7% to $62.70 at the time of publication on Friday.

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