Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Trading Down 5.9% on Insider Selling

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU)’s stock price traded down 5.9% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $94.35 and last traded at $94.80. 2,881,528 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 3,774,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $100.74.

Specifically, CEO Anthony J. Wood sold 50,000 shares of the 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 available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Collier sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $171,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,113,100. This trade represents a 13.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Roku in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Roku from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Roku in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Roku from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Roku from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Roku presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.40.

Roku News Summary

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 Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 160.79 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.71.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.25. Roku had a return on equity of 3.40% and a net margin of 1.87%.The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.24) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Roku, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Roku

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROKU. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Roku by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Roku during the 1st quarter valued at $229,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Roku in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $256,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Roku by 196.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Roku by 23.3% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 86.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Roku Company Profile

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.