New Delhi, June 14 -- Roku shares closed up roughly 20 percent on Friday, lifted by a fresh round of industry chatter that put Comcast back at the top of the list of likely acquirers for the connected-TV pioneer. The move marks one of the sharpest single-session rallies the stock has logged since its 2017 IPO and resets a takeover narrative the Street has been pricing in and out for the better part of five years.

The catalyst was a Cord Cutters News commentary, picked up by trading desks late in the afternoon, that flagged Roku as Comcast's most logical next M&A move now that its larger bid for Warner Bros. Discovery has effectively been outflanked. Cord Cutters News reported that an industry executive briefed on Comcast's strategy descr...