Robinhood Markets HOOD shares rose in premarket trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley upgraded the online trading platform to Overweight from Equal-weight and raised its price target to $150 from $124.

The upgrade came even as broader cryptocurrency-related stocks declined, with Coinbase and Strategy trading lower in premarket activity.

Morgan Stanley said Robinhood’s expanding product lineup, stronger customer engagement and growing asset-based revenues could support further growth.

The bank also raised its earnings estimates for the company through 2028.

Morgan Stanley raises Robinhood price target

Robinhood shares gained about 1.4% in premarket trading, while the stock remained down about 7% since the start of the year.

Morgan Stanley’s new $150 price target represents roughly 43% upside from Monday’s closing price. FactSet data showed an average analyst target of nearly $126.

Analysts led by Michael Cyprys said Robinhood’s broader product capabilities are improving the economics of its existing customer base.

“We see increasing evidence that broader product capabilities are improving the economics of HOOD’s installed customer base,” Cyprys wrote.

The bank raised its earnings-per-share estimates for the next three years by 12%, 14% and 15%, respectively.

Morgan Stanley highlighted Robinhood’s ability to generate more revenue from its existing customer base rather than relying primarily on growth in funded accounts.

The company now has 13 business lines generating more than $100 million in annualized revenue, according to the bank.

Prediction markets boost engagement

Prediction markets were identified as a major growth opportunity for Robinhood.

Event contract revenue increased to $156 million in the second quarter from $10 million a year earlier, surpassing revenue generated from equities and cryptocurrency trading.

Morgan Stanley said fewer than 2 million prediction-market users generated the $156 million in second-quarter revenue, highlighting the potential for further customer engagement.

The bank also pointed to Robinhood’s expanding range of products, including retirement accounts, credit cards, advisory services, banking, gold and trust offerings. These products could encourage customers to hold more assets on the platform.

Higher trading activity is another factor supporting the upgrade. Robinhood has introduced features including short selling, futures and desktop trading, which Morgan Stanley said have helped active traders use the platform more frequently.

The analysts noted that the company’s assets per customer had increased 23% year over year, while Gold users held about 4.2 times the average customer’s assets under custody.

Infrastructure offers another growth avenue

Morgan Stanley also sees greater monetization opportunities as Robinhood expands further into market infrastructure.

The company has begun routing prediction-market event contracts through its affiliate exchange, Rothera, giving it more control over the related value chain.

“Notably, our revisions come despite lower crypto forecasts,” the analysts wrote, adding that the upside is increasingly driven by active trading, prediction markets and asset-based revenues.

Morgan Stanley expects Robinhood’s revenue to grow at a 23% compound annual growth rate through 2028, reaching $8 billion, about 6% above consensus estimates.

The bank also expects expense discipline to increase EBITDA margins to 53% from 48%.

Potential catalysts include the Sept. 29-30 HOOD Summit, Rothera, perpetual futures, and agentic trading.

The bank’s $150 target is based on a 25-times multiple of its 2031 probability-weighted earnings.

With Morgan Stanley’s new target implying 43% upside, HOOD is likely to stay on the radar of investors evaluating online trading platforms.

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KuCoin, a global cryptocurrency platform, has upgraded its Institutional Interest-Free Lending Program by adding support for its Unified Trading Account (UTA).

The update lowers the external 30-day trading volume requirement for newly registered API clients from 30 million USDT to 10 million USDT.

Eligible clients can also access 0% interest for the first two months without a trading volume requirement and borrow up to 3 million USDT for use across Spot, Margin and Futures.

According to KuCoin, the update is intended to reduce the costs and operational complexity that can arise when institutional capital is spread across multiple accounts and trading products.

Integrating lending with a unified account allows eligible users to access financing and deploy capital through the same account structure.

UTA allows eligible users to manage capital across supported trading products through a single account.

With Institutional Lending integrated into UTA, borrowed funds can be used across Spot, Margin and Futures without transfers between separate trading accounts. Borrowing is available in USDT, USDC, BTC and ETH.

KuCoin introduced its interest-free credit program in 2024, offering eligible API traders and quantitative teams up to 500,000 USDT, along with fee benefits, higher API limits, enhanced connectivity and technical support.

In 2025, the borrowing limit increased to 3 million USDT, while the program added support for multiple borrowing assets and allowed users to combine funds from sub-accounts as margin across eligible products.

“Professional market participants need timely, flexible and capital-efficient access to liquidity. Effective institutional lending infrastructure must combine financing at scale, tailored terms and competitive pricing so clients can execute sophisticated strategies with confidence,” said Alison Qin, Head of KuCoin Institutional & VIP.

KuCoin said the 2026 upgrade moves the program toward a more integrated institutional capital infrastructure by connecting lending directly with its unified account framework.

KuCoin said the upgrade is part of its broader product strategy focused on how users access, manage and deploy digital assets.

The company added that connecting financing, account infrastructure and execution is intended to provide institutions with tools for participating in the digital asset market.

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Nio stock continued its strong downward trend, reaching its lowest level since July 2025 after the company announced its financial results, which showed that its losses continued last quarter. It dropped to a low of $4.20, down by over 40% from its highest point this year. 

Nio’s losses continued despite the revenue boom

Nio, a top Chinese company, published a mixed financial result. Its revenue soared by 69% in the second quarter to $4.7 billion. It had grown by over 27.5% from a quarter earlier, with its volume continuing to surge amid the rising demand for its vehicles. 

The results also showed that its gross margins rose to 18.4%, higher than the 10.3% in the same period last year. This metric, however, was lower than the 19% from the previous quarter.

Most notably, the company’s bottom line remained in the red, with its net loss jumped to $77.8 million. This figure has been getting worse after it made a big profit in the fourth quarter of last year. The CEO said:

“The Company continued to improve its overall operating quality. Supported by strong sales of higher-margin models and ongoing optimization of our cost structure, we maintained healthy gross and vehicle margins despite rising cost pressures.”

Nio’s performance after earnings mirrors that of other companies. For example, BYD stock dropped to $11, its lowest level since July 23rd, even after it reported a strong profit. Xpeng stock dropped to $11.36, down by 60% from its highest point last year.

Li Auto shares plunged to $12.10, down by 30% this year, while Polestar is down by over 40%. Other Chinese EV companies like Xiaomi and Zeekr have all dropped substantially this year.

BYD highlighted some of the challenges that the company is facing. In its earnings last week, BYD noted that the industry was contending with higher costs and sluggish demand. As a result, the management is expanding its business globally to offset the weak Chinese demand.

On the positive side, Nio believes that its growth will continue in the foreseeable future. Its deliveries in the third quarter is expected to be between 108,000 and 111,000, with its revenue growing by over 50% YoY.

Nio stock price technical analysis

Nio stock chart | Source: TradingView

The daily chart shows that the Nio shares have continued to fall in the past few months. It dropped below the important support level of $4.40, its lowest level in February and March this year.

Moving below that level confirmed the bearish outlook. At the same time, the stock has formed a head-and-shoulders pattern, a common bearish reversal sign in technical analysis.

The stock has moved below all moving averages and the Supertrend indicator. Also, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has continued falling, reaching a low of 34, its lowest level since July 14. 

Therefore, the stock will likely continue falling, potentially to the key support level of $3.50. On the other hand, the stock has also formed a falling wedge pattern, a sign that it may rebound in the coming weeks.

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US stocks opened lower on Tuesday, the first trading day of September, as rising Treasury yields, higher oil prices and renewed Middle East tensions pressured investor sentiment.

Traders also increased their expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike later this month, adding to concerns over the outlook for equities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 254 points while the S&P 500 fell 0.65%. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.32%.

The weakness followed a difficult end to August for stocks and came as investors entered September, historically the weakest month for the S&P 500.

Since 1926, the benchmark index has recorded an average September decline of 0.7%, according to data cited by Fisher Investments.

Rising yields and oil pressure stocks

Higher bond yields remained a key source of pressure for equities.

The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed to levels not seen since January 2025, while benchmark yields in other major markets also moved higher.

Japan’s 10-year government bond yield reached its highest level since August 1996, while Germany’s benchmark yield climbed to a level last seen in 2011.

The rise in global yields has been driven partly by concerns that elevated oil prices could keep inflation pressures high.

Higher Treasury yields can also reduce the relative appeal of equities by increasing returns available from risk-free government debt.

Oil prices extended their gains on Tuesday. US crude rose more than 2% to trade above $87 a barrel, while Brent futures gained more than 1% to around $92.

The increase followed renewed military activity between the US and Iran.

Concerns over potential disruptions to energy supplies have pushed crude prices higher, with a tanker traveling through the Strait of Hormuz reportedly struck by three unknown projectiles on Monday.

The energy sector benefited from the move in crude prices. Exxon Mobil gained 1.49%, and Devon Energy advanced 1.44%.

Investors await jobs data and Fed signals

Investors are also preparing for a series of labor-market reports that could influence expectations for Federal Reserve policy.

The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey is due later Tuesday, while the more closely watched nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled for Friday.

The data will be assessed against the backdrop of recent comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who has emphasized inflation as a key policy concern.

A stronger-than-expected inflation outlook could reinforce expectations for tighter monetary policy, while labor-market weakness could influence the timing of future policy changes.

Technology stocks were among the biggest decliners.

Nvidia, Intel and AMD fell between 2% and 3.22%, while Micron Technology and Microsoft also moved lower. Alphabet declined 1.22%.

Robinhood bucked the broader trend, rising 1.77% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock.

Energy stocks advanced alongside crude prices.

Overseas markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and China’s CSI 300 declined, while South Korea’s Kospi gained.

European stocks were broadly lower, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.6% in mid-morning trading. Oil and gas stocks were an exception, rising 1.3% as crude prices climbed.

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