Roku rises on ESPN+ platform offering, Steven Cohen passive stake

Shares of Roku (ROKU) traded higher in the extended session on Monday following its announcement offering ESPN+ on its platform. LIVE SPORTS AT A BARGAIN: Just two weeks after Disney (DIS) yielded to long-standing pressure to offer a live sports streaming service to viewers without a cable package, Roku has made the case for direct-to-consumer cable alternatives stronger. With today's announcement, Roku's devices will start to feature "hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, Grand Slam tennis, Top Rank boxing, PGA Tour golf, college sports, international rugby, cricket" and other sporting events. Roku owners will also have the chance to sample the functionality of the services with a 7-day free trial before deciding to subscribe for just $4.99 per month. The caveat of the press release may be the disclosure that local blackouts will apply to the service, suggesting that local sports teams' action may not be among the options available for subscribers. POINT72 SHOOTS AND SCORES: Just after the Roku disclosure of ESPN+ offering, Steven Cohen of Point72 Asset Management filed a 13G disclosing a 5.1% asset stake in the company. Cohen's position adds to an increasingly more constructive array of sentiment among sell-side research analysts, with Oppenheimer and CitiGroup upgrading the stock within the past month following its surprisingly strong set of Q4 results in late February. PRICE ACTION: In late extended session trading, shares of Roku are up 5.7% at $34.90, which is a 3-week high for the stock. Disney, which had traded down two weeks ago on the announcement of ESPN+ streaming service, was also up 0.7%.