What's In A Name Anyway ROBINHOOD: Market Cap Boost

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Robinhood Billionaire Cofounders’ Fortunes Nearly Double In Two Days Amid Stock’s Wild Rally

Sergei Klebnikov Forbes Staff

Forbes | 2021-08-04

Shares of popular stock trading app Robinhood skyrocketed on Wednesday, extending a two-day rally that has doubled the company’s market capitalization and made its billionaire cofounders even richer. 

Robinhood shares jumped 50% during trading on Wednesday, after surging 24% on Tuesday. That pushed up the net worths of the company’s two cofounders, Vlad Tenev, 34, and Baiju Bhatt, 36,by $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively. 

Based on Wednesday’s closing price of $70.39, Tenev is now worth $4.3 billion, while Bhatt is worth $4.9 billion, according to Forbes’ calculations. (Tenev and Bhatt began the day worth an estimated $2.9 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively.)

The pair took the company public on the Nasdaq NDAQ last Thursday under the ticker “HOOD,” in a lackluster IPO where shares fell by 8% on its first day. The stock had largely continued to trade below its starting IPO price of $38 per share until Tuesday. Since then shares have risen nearly 87% over the last two days, boosting Robinhood’s market capitalization from just over $30 billion on Monday to nearly $60 billion as of Wednesday.

Robinhood shareholders can thank a vote of confidence from one of Wall Street's most popular tech investors, followed by bullish sentiment from Reddit traders. 

High-profile investor Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, which invests in "disruptive innovation" like Tesla TSLA and manages some $60 billion in assets, has been building a position in Robinhood since it went public last week. The fund purchased an additional 90,000 shares—a stake worth more than $5 million—on Tuesday night. 

Cathie Wood’s endorsement—along with other high-profile Wall Street figures such as CNBC host Jim Cramer, who recently gave Robinhood his stamp of approval—has led to large amounts of retail investors buying up the stock. Trading of options on Robinhood stock also began on Wednesday, fueling further volatility in the stock price.

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Sergei Klebnikov "I am a New York-based reporter covering billionaires and their wealth for Forbes. Previously, I worked on the breaking news team at Forbes covering money and markets.

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