The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Robinhood Markets Inc. on Thursday set the stage for its stock market launch on Nasdaq, after settling legal fines it said were unlikely to be its last and revealing a massive surge in growth in its initial public offering filing. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe says that the on-line broker, which was at the centre of a confrontation between a new generation of retail investors grouping on social media and Wall Street hedge funds in late January, is aiming for an IPO valuation of more than $40-billion (U.S.). Robinhood was hit with a $70-million (U.S.) fine this week for systemic failures and providing false and misleading information, reported a 245-per-cent jump in revenue last year, as it fed on the surge in trading by ordinary Americans stuck at home. The filing also detailed a swathe of government probes. However, the growth came at a cost as Robinhood was forced to raise a financing round from investors after its finances were stretched at the height of the retail trading frenzy that gripped markets earlier this year. Robinhood has received heightened scrutiny from Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators.