Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Trading Down 3.3% on Insider Selling

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU)’s share price traded down 3.3% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $91.29 and last traded at $91.65. 2,949,198 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 3,757,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.80.

Specifically, CEO Anthony J. Wood sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.68, for a total transaction of $4,984,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ROKU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Roku from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on Roku from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Roku from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Roku from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Roku in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.40.

Key Headlines Impacting Roku

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Roku’s recent operational wins and bullish analyst notes helped drive a run-up into March — analysts have raised targets and coverage remains largely positive, supporting longer?term growth expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product and engagement initiatives (new on?platform game “Roklue” and improved Live TV search) aim to boost time?spent and ad monetization, which can support platform revenue growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Content deals: Roku secured exclusive streaming rights to a new X Games League, which can help drive unique live content and viewer engagement on the platform. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Retail promotions and steep discounts on Roku TVs and projectors are widespread this month — such device promotions can expand the user base and ad reach if they translate into active accounts. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ad/measurement ecosystem update: Pixalate released DEFASED pre?bid CTV blocklists (daily lists of apps delisted from app stores). This is an industry tool for buyers/sellers and could change ad targeting or inventory mix, but its direct impact on Roku revenue is unclear today. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale headline: CEO Anthony Wood’s trust sold 50,000 shares (filed as a March 10 transaction, average ~$99.68). Even if pre?planned under a 10b5?1, the disclosure can prompt near?term selling pressure and headline-driven volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy historical insider selling: multiple senior insiders have only sold (no purchases) over recent months, a datapoint investors often view as a negative signal for near?term sentiment. Read More.

Roku Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 160.79 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.72.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Roku had a return on equity of 3.40% and a net margin of 1.87%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. Analysts predict that Roku, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Roku by 275.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,586,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,897,407 shares during the last quarter. Tableaux LLC acquired a new position in shares of Roku in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,746,000. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Roku by 7,087.7% during the 4th quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,421,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401,664 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Roku by 352.3% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,650,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,585 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Roku during the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,808,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

About Roku

Roku, Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) is a technology company that develops and operates a proprietary streaming platform designed to deliver entertainment content to consumers via internet-connected devices and smart televisions. Since its inception in 2002 in California, Roku has focused on simplifying access to streaming services for viewers worldwide. The company’s platform enables users to discover, access and manage a wide array of over-the-top content from major streaming services, free ad-supported channels and niche providers.

At the core of Roku’s product lineup are a range of streaming players and sticks, which connect to televisions via HDMI and deliver the Roku OS experience.