Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Shares Down 7.4% – Time to Sell?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) fell 7.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $53.92 and last traded at $53.7560. 89,115 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 298,608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROOT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Root from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $50.00 price target on Root and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Root from $104.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Root from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Root from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Root currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Root Stock Down 6.7%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $857.19 million, a P/E ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 2.85.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $1.25. Root had a return on equity of 19.97% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm had revenue of $393.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.16 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROOT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Root by 511.7% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 734 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Root by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Root during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $144,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Root during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Company Profile

Root, trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker ROOT, is a Columbus, Ohio–based insurance company that leverages mobile technology and data analytics to offer personalized auto insurance policies. Founded in 2015 by Alex Timm and Dan Manges, Root set out to transform traditional underwriting by focusing on individual driving behavior rather than broad demographic factors.

The company’s core product is usage-based auto insurance, delivered through a smartphone app that monitors driving patterns such as speed, braking and phone usage behind the wheel.