Since its initial public offering on Sept. 27, streaming device company Roku has surged 97 percent, making it the best tech IPO of the year. But it’s also one of the most volatile.
On Monday, shares of Roku soared 17 percent and closed at a record high after boutique research shop Needham upped its price target to $50, citing the streaming company’s growing customer base. Massive moves are nothing new to Roku shareholders, particularly as of late as investors struggle to value the company.
But Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, says that such moves are to be expected, and that investors shouldn’t be too concerned with any pullbacks in the short term.
“The one thing we need to know is companies like this have such good upside potential in terms of their business,” he said Monday on the “Trading Nation” segment of CNBC’s “Power Lunch.” “Ten percent, 12 percent, 20 percent corrections are going to happen all the time.”
Since going public, Roku shares have registered daily moves of 18, 28 and 55 percent.
“You look at Microsoft, Amazon, any of these companies,” he added. “The first two years of their existence, they saw considerable pullback.”
Max Wolff, chief economist at The Phoenix Group, believes however that while “over-the-top looks like it’s the future,” Roku could soon face competition from some other big tech names that could enter the space.
“[The streaming hardware] space hasn’t been as crowded because hardware is a tougher road to hoe, and some of the other names in the space might have some contract manufacturing relationships,” he said on “Power Lunch.”
“But if they start doing anything like being as profitable as they are expensive, then I think you might see some big players show up and those guys are kind of hard to share the pie with.”
Roku closed Monday at $46.52.
Roku, the year's hottest tech IPO, has been one of the most volatile. That may not be so bad, traders say