Roblox gets another boost as ARK ETF buys in

Roblox Corp (NYSE:RBLX) has received another boost to its fortunes after its direct listing on Wednesday as the ARK Next Generation Internet exchange-traded fund (ETF), run by millionaire stockpicker Cathie Wood, backed the firm with the purchase of over half a million shares in the online video game building platform.

The ETF said on Thursday that Roblox now accounts for 0.47% of its portfolio weighting. While not exactly a huge bet for the ARK fund, Wood’s online following among various online communities, including retail traders on forum website Reddit, is likely to boost sentiment around the stock following its blockbuster listing.

READ: Roblox makes strong start to life as a listed company

Having been provided with a US$45 reference price by the New York Stock Exchange ahead of its listing, Roblox has seen its value soar at the start of its life as a listed company, with the shares ending Thursday’s session at US$73.90, a gain of just over 64% and giving it a market cap of almost US$41bn.

Roblox’s platform, which allows users to create their own video games and play games created by others, has over 30mln daily active users on its platform and is expecting to rake in at least US$320mln in revenue in the first quarter of 2021, up 98% year-on-year.

One of the biggest winners from the float is Roblox co-founder David Baszucki, known to users as ‘builderman’, which has seen the value of his stake in the group reach around US$4.6bn.

Shares in Roblox were trading down 2.6% at US$72 in pre-market trading in New York on Friday, potentially a sign that the market value of the group could be reaching a plateau.

Story by ProactiveInvestors