The stock market is in the early stages of a period of rising retail investor activity, and that could bode well for Robinhood Markets , according to Bank of America. The bank double upgraded the online brokerage and financial service provider to buy from underperform on Friday, raising its price target to $24 from $14, implying about 34% upside in the shares. The stock rose 7%. The stock is also on pace for a 10% weekly gain after a brief revival of 2021’s meme stock mania earlier in the week, which sent stocks such as GameStop and AMC soaring . “Retail engagement peaked in 2021 and then declined significantly through the > 500bps of Fed rate hikes and the 2022 bear market, troughing in 2023,” Bank of America analyst Craig Siegenthaler said in a note. “However, following the emergence of a new bull market last year, we have monitored a rebound in multiple metrics at Robinhood Markets … and we expect this to continue through 2026.” Siegenthaler said a rise in retail engagement can drive 44% organic growth, margin loan utilization and more than 60% year-over-year trading activity that can drive payment for order flow. “We view the current macroeconomic setup as almost the complete opposite of 2021 which was when we initiated [research coverage] on HOOD at Underperform,” he added. “Now interest rates are elevated and the BofA economists forecast Fed rate cuts to start in December while economic growth is surprising to the upside and stock/crypto markets are back in bull market territory.” — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
