** Shares of trading platform Robinhood HOOD.O rise 1.2% to $49.68 in after-hours trading
** Co's Q1 profit doubles and beats estimates, driven by a surge in trading volumes from clients looking to hedge their positions amid choppy markets
** Transaction-based revenue, or income generated from fees for facilitating trading in options, cryptocurrency and equities, jumped 77%
** Majority of the gains came from a 100% jump in crypto trading activity as bitcoin remained choppy during the quarter
** HOOD posts a profit of $336 million, or 37 cents per share, in the first quarter, up from $157 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier
** Analysts had expected a profit of 33 cents per share - LSEG data
** HOOD shares have gained 32% YTD
(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru)
((Ateev.Bhandari@thomsonreuters.com))