Speculations of an Acquisition has Roku stock on the rise

Roku (ROKU) shares gained momentum in premarket trading on Wednesday following an optimistic note from Needham & Company, which reiterated its Buy rating and $100 price target.

The stock is up around 4.6% ahead of the opening bell.

“We expect Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) to be purchased for a large premium within the next 12 months,” said the Needham analysts. They believe it will be driven by Roku’s unique assets and positioning in the connected TV (CTV) ecosystem.

The note highlighted Walmart (NYSE: WMT)’s $2.3 billion acquisition of Vizio as a catalyst for intensified competition in the CTV space. Walmart aims to challenge Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)’s Retail Media Network (RMN) by linking Vizio’s CTV ads to its sales, a move Needham expects other players to emulate.

In this landscape, Roku stands out as the “only scaled CTV platform that can be purchased,” positioning it as a prime acquisition target.