Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Stock: Insider Matthew Banks Sells 552 Shares

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) CAO Matthew Banks sold 552 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.44, for a total value of $86,906.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,599.04. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Roku Trading Up 3.1%

ROKU stock traded up $4.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $160.36. The stock had a trading volume of 3,974,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,278,403. Roku, Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.53 and a 52-week high of $161.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.79. The company has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.53 and a beta of 2.05.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Roku had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Roku, Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Roku

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Roku by 229.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,038,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,772 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P acquired a new position in shares of Roku in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $163,604,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Roku by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,565,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,090,000 after acquiring an additional 290,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Roku during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,216,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Roku by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,082,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,450,000 after purchasing an additional 56,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Roku

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Roku reported Q3 revenue of $1.50 billion, up 24% year over year and above expectations of $1.41 billion. EPS of $1.20 also topped the $0.55 consensus, while net income rose sharply. The results point to strong operating momentum. Roku Sees Soaring Sales, Net Income of $183M, As It Blasts Past Analyst Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising revenue grew 23%, and improved ad margins helped drive the profit surge. This strengthens the case that Roku’s advertising business is contributing to earnings growth. Roku’s Ads Drive a 7-Fold Jump in Profit
• Positive Sentiment: Fox said it had received all foreign regulatory approvals for its pending acquisition of Roku, helping narrow the deal spread and reducing one source of completion uncertainty. The transaction remains subject to the remaining process. Roku/Fox deal spread narrows after Fox says it received all foreign regulator approvals
• Neutral Sentiment: Call-option volume reached 12,705 contracts, 179% above its average. The unusual activity may reflect bullish positioning, but options volume alone does not confirm investor expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities cut its rating from Buy to Neutral and set a $160 price target, indicating little upside at that level. Roku downgraded by Rosenblatt Securities

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Roku in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Roku from $120.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Roku in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Roku from $126.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Roku from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nineteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.17.

About Roku

Roku, Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) operates a television streaming platform that connects consumers with digital entertainment. The company develops and licenses Roku OS, an operating system for smart televisions and streaming devices, and offers Roku-branded streaming players, Roku TVs, audio products and related accessories.

Roku also operates a platform business that distributes streaming content through its interface and supports content discovery, subscriptions and digital advertising. Its services include The Roku Channel, which provides a selection of ad-supported and premium entertainment, as well as tools that enable content providers and advertisers to reach streaming audiences.

Founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, Roku initially became known for its streaming players and later expanded through partnerships with television manufacturers.