Roku Inc. saw an increase in advertising cancellations due to the COVID-19 crisis but still expects to record “substantial” ad-revenue growth for the full year.

Roku (ROKU) has had a bumpy past few weeks. After peaking at over $138 on May 7th, the media streaming giant reported lackluster earnings that afternoon. Roku shares have been on a steady decline since then, falling nearly 22%.Although the company’s Q1 earnings were not ugly, they weren’t gorgeous, either. Active users, total revenues, and average revenue per user were all up more than 35% year-over-year which, on paper, is quite impressive. However, with people have been permanently stuck at home, these numbers should be higher than ever. After declaring negative EBIDTA as well as losses per share that fell even below that of consensus, Wall Street has become rather bearish on ROKU.Furthermore, investors fear that Roku’s current deal with Smart TV company TCL could come back to haunt the company. The partnership, which was formed in 2014, has successfully gained increased market share for both corporations. However, the issue lies in the fact that while TCL has done most of the heavy lifting in the relationship, Roku has reaped the majority of the benefits, aka increased user traffic and ad engagement. It is possible that TCL may become fed up and try to either renegotiate current terms or soon sign with a competitor; though, everything is still up in the air.Regardless, for both the time being and the considerable future, Roku seems to be in a solid strategic position. First, the TCL problem will likely blow over very soon and, if not, Roku still has a number of different Smart TV companies with which it could potentially strike a deal. In addition, the streaming powerhouse did post strong revenue figures, and an array of trends are working in favor of Roku’s prolonged success. As ad spend continues to shift to the platform, subscriptions continue to surge, and competitors are forced to increasingly rely on now-outdated content, shareholders should be optimistic about Roku’s future.Taking into consideration the company’s recent financial performance and competitive positioning, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter maintains a Hold rating on ROKU along with a $136 price target. (To watch Pachter’s track record, click here)Pachter realizes that while COVID-19 has created favorable trends for the company’s overall user engagement, the lower advertising is quite severe to its bottom line, just as it has been to other ad-dependent companies such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. The analyst estimates a minimum 20% decline in total ad spend, a bullet that is impossible to dodge.Despite these headwinds, the pandemic has given the market a firsthand look at many long-term trends that will be essential to the company’s future success, including cord cutting and, in turn, a shift in ad spend from television to streaming services. Plus, as production schedules for original content creators continue being delayed, more consumers are likely to resort to free, ad-bearing streaming services that available on the platform, such as Tubi or Vudu. Although ROKU is not living up to its recent highs, Pachter suspects that the tech titan will arise from these pressing times in a comfortable competitive position.All in all, Wall Street is evenly split between the bulls and those choosing to play it safe. Based on 14 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 7 rate ROKU a Buy, 5 say Hold, while 2 recommend Sell. Notably, the 12-month average price target stands at $126.54, marking a nearly 17% in return potential for the stock.To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * 3 "Strong Buy" Penny Stocks That Offer Massive Potential Gains * Logitech Shares Lifted In Pre-Market On Share Buyback Plan, 10% Dividend Boost * Apple Snaps Up AI Startup Inductiv, As Analysts Boost PTs On Store Reopenings * Microsoft Seeks $2B Stake In India’s Jio Platforms- Report

(ROKU) stock fell on Friday after an analyst warned that the streaming entertainment firm might be a victim of its own success. Stephens analyst Kyle Evans cut his rating on Roku (ticker: ROKU) to Equal Weight from Overweight, and lowered his price target on the shares by $50, to $105. Evans has a few concerns about the stock, but mostly he is wary of the company’s partnership with Chinese electronics firm TCL, which makes Roku-branded TVs.

Netflix shares are overvalued at current levels, one Wall Street analyst argues.

HBO Max will be available on Altice USA Inc, Cox Communications, Microsoft Corp, National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), Samsung, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Verizon Communications Inc when it launches on May 27, the company said. The company had previously announced distribution deals with Apple Inc, Charter Communications Inc, Hulu and Alphabet Inc's Google and YouTube TV.

Managing Director & Chief U.S. Economist at NatWest Markets Michelle Girard joins Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith to break down the April jobs report.

Roku posted a strong first-quarter earning report after the bell on Thursday. Yahoo Finance’s On The Move panel share the details.

* Benzinga has examined the prospects for many investor favorite stocks over the past week. * Bullish calls included stay-at-home winners and a bankrupt utility. * Bearish calls included struggling airlines and a lagging social media player.The major U.S. indexes ended last week with solid gains, led by a 6% rise in the Nasdaq, despite a historically bad jobs report and U.S.-China relations deteriorating once again. Also, another big retailer filed for bankruptcy last week, ahead of the coming retail earnings season.Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. The following are some of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.Bulls In "Why Roku Is Still A Long-Term Winner In The Streaming Wars," Wayne Duggan shares why analysts believe Roku Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) is positioned to overcome its near-term challenges.Peloton Interactive Inc (NASDAQ: PTON) analysts are bullish despite mixed quarterly results. So says Elizabeth Balboa's "Analysts See Peloton Taking Off Even After States Lift Stay-At-Home Orders."Priya Nigam's "PG&E Analyst Sees Buying Opportunity In Bankrupt California Utility's Shares" says shares of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG) are trading at just the right price."Nio Analyst Says Improving Sales Trajectory, Easing Liquidity Concerns Support Bullish Stance" by Shanthi Rexaline looks at what prompted a top analyst to turn bullish on Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO).For additional bullish calls, also have a look at "Bitcoin Gains Major Backer In Paul Tudor Jones" and "Coronavirus Drives Surge In Online Grocery Penetration For Players Like Amazon Prime Now, Walmart."Bears In Elizabeth Balboa's "All The Bad News From Airlines This Week: 'Travel Demand Is Essentially Zero,'" see what happened to American Airlines Group Inc (NYSE: AAL) and its peers when Warren Buffett walked away."These Analysts Aren't Supporting Beyond Meat's Stock Surge" by Jayson Derrick looks at why investors might have been impressed by Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND) results -- but analysts remained bearish.See what limits the ability of Qualcomm, Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) to gain market share, according to "Qualcomm Is A Victim Of Its Own Success, Says Bearish Wells Fargo" by Priya Nigam.Wayne Duggan's "Wall Street Weighs In On Pinterest's Disappointing Quarter" discusses ways that Pinterest Inc (NYSE: PINS) may be lagging its social media peers.Be sure to check out "11 Reasons Billionaire Investor Leon Cooperman Is Worried About Long-Term Impacts Of COVID-19" and "Cramer Says Up To 1 Out Of 3 Restaurants, Bars Will Close" for additional bearish calls.At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.Photo courtesy of Peloton. See more from Benzinga * Barron's Picks And Pans: Dropbox, Ford, Johnson & Johnson, Teladoc And More * Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Caterpillar, Facebook, Microsoft And More * Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft, Twitter And More(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

It was bound to happen at some point and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell did the honors. After several weeks of a disconnect between rising equity prices and terrible economic numbers, Powell finally deflated sentiment with a stark warning about the challenges ahead. That was enough to send shares of most companies down, including streaming equipment provider Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU). Although Roku stock gained previously on the hostage audience thesis, it wasn't so lucky on Wednesday.Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com But that wasn't the only setback that hurt shares. Mostly, Wall Street took a dim view on Roku stock because of the underlying company's recent prospectus, which revealed management's decision to enter an equity distribution agreement. In it, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) will assist in selling shares via an "at-the-market" offering. The agreement has a maximum limit of four million shares.Naturally, this is dilutive for current shareholders, which on the surface isn't what you want right now. With so much red ink circulating throughout the markets, investors are obviously looking for viable growth opportunities.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsBut in the long run, I don't necessarily view this as a bad move for ROKU. Primarily, management is working from a position of relative strength. For example, Roku stock clawed its way back to slightly above parity earlier this month. That's something few publicly traded companies can say about their equity value. * 7 Stocks to Buy That Have Nothing But Upside In Their Future Further, streaming is a very hot commodity in the current landscape. The best example here is Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), which has gone ballistic since mid-March. With few entertainment options available, most people turned to streaming. Organically, this benefited ROKU. Thus, management might as well strike while the iron is hot. Permanent Shift to Streaming Will Bolster Roku StockBut in the years to come, I believe that investors will look back on this equity distribution agreement as a blip on the radar. What will likely drive Roku stock is a transition to streaming that was happening well before the novel coronavirus entered the picture. Really, this pandemic only accelerated this narrative.First, traditional (linear) TV products are expensive compared to streaming options. Typically, linear TV consumers will find themselves paying for channels for which they have no interest. On the other hand, streaming allows you to purchase only the content you want. Better yet, with on-demand capabilities, you can choose when to watch them.Second, the coronavirus distinctly put linear TV providers at a disadvantage. One of the biggest drivers for corded platforms was easy access to live sports. But during the shelter-in-place orders, all major sports leagues shut down. Although these leagues are now plotting a return to the field of play, negotiations will be very tricky.Invariably, whatever course professional sports takes, there will be zero fans in the stadiums. That is going to look very weird for fans, even from a TV viewer's perspective. Given such a neutered product, it's possible that many people may turn back to streaming. This would probably see Roku stock enjoying another rally at linear TV's expense.Third, Americans made a very pronounced switch to streaming during the forced quarantines. According to a Nielsen report, we streamed 85% more minutes of video content in March on a year-over-year basis. That is a dramatic shift that only something like a pandemic could accomplish.Essentially, ROKU received a stunning marketing campaign for free. So, whatever they hope to accomplish with their equity distribution agreement, it's all gravy. Economic Problems May Be a Surprising CatalystAs you know, 20.5 million Americans found themselves out of work last month. Many more could join their ranks in the months ahead. Ordinarily, such dire circumstances would bode poorly for entertainment names like Roku stock. But thanks to the underlying technology, that might not be the case this time around.My thinking is this. In a bull market, households could spend freely due to a lack of fiscal pressure. Some might have both corded and uncorded options to get the advantages of both. But in this volatile economy, families need to watch every dollar going out. That means showing the door to linear TV.Nevertheless, entertainment is more important than ever, primarily as a coping mechanism. Therefore, consumers will elect the lowest-cost option, which would of course involve Roku's free ad-support channel. That would attract advertisers, who are now looking to get the most bang for their buck.Ultimately, I wouldn't let nearer-term hiccups distract you. As we work through this unprecedented crisis, the big pieces are falling favorably for Roku stock.A former senior business analyst for Sony Electronics, Josh Enomoto has helped broker major contracts with Fortune Global 500 companies. Over the past several years, he has delivered unique, critical insights for the investment markets, as well as various other industries including legal, construction management, and healthcare. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * America's 1 Stock Picker Reveals Next 1,000% Winner * 25 Stocks You Should Sell Immediately * 1 Under-the-Radar 5G Stock to Buy Now * The 1 Stock All Retirees Must Own The post Cord-Cutting and the Coronavirus Are Perfect Catalysts for Roku Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Roku Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) shares dropped 8% on Friday after the company reported strong first-quarter user growth but shared lackluster commentary about its ad business outlook for the second quarter.Roku reported a 45-cent loss per share for the first quarter, in-line with analyst expectations. Revenue of $321 million exceeded consensus estimates of $307 million.Roku also reported 39.8 million active accounts, up 37% from a year ago. Management said its ad business will continue to grow, but has been slowed by a higher-than-normal number of cancellations.Near-Term Challenges, Long-Term Gains Bank of America analyst Ziv Israel said the coronavirus has created near-term headwinds, but Roku's long-term story remains intact."We see our thesis as largely intact driven by the long term benefits of higher engagement on the platform," Israel wrote in a note.Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos said investors should expect Roku shares to take a breather after a large run-up heading into earnings."That said, all of the momentum drivers, including player sales, streaming hours and new active accounts only improved in April, and we expect the current environment will still be favorable for free content aggregators unlike potential pauses in some of the SVOD channels," Kurnos wrote.The Rise Of OTT Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein said there's no stopping the secular shift in advertising from linear TV to over-the-top models."While near-term revenue will slow dramatically on reduced advertising and sponsorship, many factors suggest Roku/OTT will emerge from COVID-19 much stronger," Helfstein wrote.View more earnings on ROKURosenblatt Securities analyst Mark Zgutowicz said Roku's position as a market leader and demand for OTT video streaming suggest Roku will be a long-term COVID-19 winner."Roku's dominant US brand/household positioning in OTT, and early innings globally, make it hard to bet against, even with acknowledged less than perfect financial model transparencies," Zgutowicz wrote.Needham analyst Laura Martin said a lack of live sports has given cord cutters a major excuse to shift to OTT streaming."Homes are viewing more AVOD (ie, free) content owing to higher unemployment, lower avg incomes, and potential recession, as evidenced by Roku Channel's viewing hours up >100% y/y in 1Q20, from 14mm homes with 36mm folks," Martin wrote.ROKU Ratings And Price Targets * Bank of America has a Buy rating and $140 target. * Benchmark has a Buy rating and $153 target. * Oppenheimer has an Outperform rating and $135 target. * Rosenblatt has a Buy rating and $145 target. * Needham has a Buy rating and $150 target.Roku's stock traded lower by 7.6% to $127 per share at time of publicaton.Related Links:Analysts React To Square Earnings: 'A Tale Of Two Ecosystems'4 'Stay-At-Home' Stocks That Are Soaring Thanks To Social DistancingLatest Ratings for ROKU DateFirmActionFromTo May 2020WedbushMaintainsNeutral May 2020RBC CapitalMaintainsOutperform Apr 2020BenchmarkInitiates Coverage OnBuy View More Analyst Ratings for ROKU View the Latest Analyst Ratings See more from Benzinga * Roku Vs. Netflix: Needham's Laura Martin Sees A Clear Quarantine Winner * 4 'Stay-At-Home' Stocks That Are Soaring Thanks To Social Distancing(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Yahoo Finance’s Emily McCormick joins Seana Smith to break down Roku’s latest earnings report.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak to the Peterson Institute for International Economics at 9 a.m. Eastern time.

Roku Inc.’s earnings call left some analysts wanting more as the company discussed the impacts of ad-market weakness on its business.

Roku stock is trading higher midday

The streaming-content movement will only get stronger because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Roku CFO Steve Louden tells Yahoo Finance.

The most popular YouTube videos for kids appear to be coming to Netflix Inc. “Cocomelon: Season 1” will start airing on Netflix’s (NFLX) streaming service on June 1, according to a listing for upcoming releases on the service that was released Wednesday. The series is listed alongside content that Netflix licenses from other sources, as opposed to original content developed by Netflix.

The U.S. Labor Department said the pandemic cost 20.5 million jobs in April, pushing the unemployment rate to a post–World War II high and deepening the economic crisis, while in New York, a child died of a rare condition linked to the virus.

The market has proven itself difficult to predict at the best of times, yet the sustained rally since mid-March has left many perplexed. As the bad news on Main Street has kept piling up, Wall Street has nonchalantly marched on, seemingly oblivious to the pandemic’s destructive effect and buoyed by the stimulus measures.But perplexing market moves are nothing new. Which brings us to Roku (ROKU). The OTT leader delivered a solid quarterly report last week, and promptly tanked in the market, as shares dropped by 8% in Friday’s session.At first glance, this may seem odd. Roku reported revenue of $321 million, up by 55.3% year-over-year and beating the estimates by $11.77million. Q1 GAAP EPS of -$0.45 met Street expectations, while active accounts increased year-over-year by 36.8% to 39.8 million. Unsurprisingly, in these stay at home times, engagement soared to 13.2 billion hours, up by 49% compared to the same period last year.So where was the problem? Maybe problem is the wrong word. But you could argue the good news was already priced in, as Roku announced preliminary results in mid-April, and therefore Wall Street knew what was coming. Secondly, it should be noted Roku stock has exploded since the mid-March lows. The majority of the market has surged too, but not many increased by 115% since then, so, it is possible some trading profits were locked in.Another explanation for the sell-off might be down to Roku’s assertion that ad spend – a major ARPU (average revenue per user) growth driver – is expected to be slashed amid the economic uncertainty. The trend was already in place in the quarter as ad cancellations came in fast and furious during late March through mid-April.Nevertheless, the pullback hasn’t dampened Rosenblatt analyst Mark Zgutowicz’s views on Roku’s prospects. As it happens, following the earnings report, the 5-star analyst reiterated a Buy and increased the price target from $110 to $145. Expect upside of 23%, should the target be met in the months ahead. (To watch Zgutowicz’s track record, click here)Zgutowicz commented, “While macro and subsequent ad market uncertainties look to be with us for some time, we remain focused on long-term potential silver linings to pandemic disruptions, including ecommerce and OTT video. Roku’s dominant US brand/household positioning in OTT, and early innings globally, make it hard to bet against, even with acknowledged less than perfect financial model transparencies. OTT video streaming and importantly Roku’s market position, should come out the other end of this stronger.”All in all, the Street keeps a positive, though more measured view. 7 Buys, 4 Holds and 2 Sells coalesce to a Moderate Buy consensus rating. The average price target is $128.33 and implies miniscule upside of 9%. (See Roku stock analysis on TipRanks)Read more: * 3 Top Stock Picks From Wall Street’s 5-Star Analyst * Morgan Stanley: 2 Stocks That Could Surge Over 25% * 3 Stocks Millennials Are Betting Big on Right Now More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Increased Focus on Health Will Benefit Herbalife, Says Analyst * Starbucks Regains Almost Two-Thirds Of U.S. Same-Store Sales As Stores Reopen * Amazon Launches Food Delivery Services In India - Report * Nutanix Stock Up 12% On Cloud Infrastructure Deal

Roku CFO joins Yahoo Finance's Alexis Christoforous and Brian Sozzi to discuss the streaming service's first quarter earnings report.

It was another big week for the Nasdaq Composite. The IPO “window” isn’t entirely closed, but the pickings have been slim. There were 21 new offerings in January and February combined, but just a dozen deals since, seven of them health-care companies.