Robinhood (HOOD) Gains Retail Distributor Role for Anthropic IPO Amid Crypto Slump
Robinhood has been named a retail distributor for the Anthropic IPO, providing potential access to retail traders as the company navigates a recent drop in cryptocurrency trading revenue.
Robinhood Financial and its adviser platform TradePMR were named among six retail distributors in Anthropic's amended S-1 registration statement filed on November 10. The filing indicates that up to 20 percent of Anthropic's offering of 825 million Class A shares, priced between $70 and $78, could be designated for retail investors depending on demand. Chief Financial Officer Shiv Verma confirmed Robinhood's participation, noting that while the brokerage advocates for larger retail allocations, final distributions are determined by the issuer and underwriters.
The development comes as Robinhood stock closed at $84.58 on Wednesday, November 11, marking a 4.0 percent gain for the session. MarketBeat reported that the shares opened at $84.58 on Thursday, trading within a 52-week band of $63.51 to $139.75. Kalkine Media noted that Robinhood executives were scheduled to appear at the Wolfe Research Wealth Symposium on Wednesday to discuss the brokerage's recent trajectory.
Robinhood has been managing a mixed performance following its late-October quarterly earnings report. Kalkine Media and MarketBeat reported that quarterly net revenue expanded to about $1.42 billion, up between 11.5 percent and 12 percent year over year. However, net earnings dropped as cryptocurrency trading revenue plummeted by 55 percent, according to FinanceFeeds, or more than halved, according to Kalkine Media. In contrast, transaction revenue received a lift from event contracts, which surged more than sixfold to surpass both crypto and equity trading revenues during the period.
The company has pursued user growth by introducing commission-free access to U.S. IPOs for retail customers in the United Kingdom and obtaining regulatory authorisation in Dubai. Robinhood closed the third quarter with 28.7 million funded customers and 5.2 million Gold subscribers, alongside $16 billion in net deposits. MarketBeat additionally reported about $15 billion in October net deposits, even as digital asset trading volumes slowed further.
Sell-side analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on Robinhood, according to MarketBeat, with 28 buy recommendations, one strong buy, six holds, and one sell among 36 covering firms. Consensus 12-month price targets vary between reports, with MarketBeat citing $126.45 or $129.70, while post-earnings targets from individual firms range from $100 from Wells Fargo to $135 from Rosenblatt and BTIG Research.