Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) Shares Up 4.9% – Here’s Why

Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) shares rose 4.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $39.98 and last traded at $40.4180. Approximately 1,420,612 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 11,811,312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Roblox from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Roblox from $49.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Roblox in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Roblox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Roblox from $82.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Roblox has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.89.

Roblox Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.04 and a 200 day moving average of $51.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.45 and a beta of 1.46.

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.60 billion. Roblox had a negative net margin of 17.60% and a negative return on equity of 292.85%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.41) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Roblox Corporation will post -1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Roblox announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Roblox

In other Roblox news, CEO David Baszucki sold 52,568 shares of Roblox stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.96, for a total transaction of $1,995,481.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 799,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,354,562.16. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Matthew D. Kaufman sold 14,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.96, for a total value of $565,755.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 335,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,718,877.60. This represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 168,213 shares of company stock valued at $6,831,901. Corporate insiders own 10.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Roblox

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Roblox by 379.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 921,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,102,000 after purchasing an additional 729,379 shares in the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its position in Roblox by 35.5% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 130,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,076,000 after buying an additional 34,120 shares during the last quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Roblox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,706,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Roblox by 89.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,893,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,984,000 after acquiring an additional 891,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Roblox in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,590,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.46% of the company’s stock.

Roblox Company Profile

Roblox Corporation operates Roblox, a user-generated online platform that enables people to create, share and monetize immersive 3D experiences and games. The core offering centers on Roblox Studio, a development environment that allows independent creators and studios to design interactive worlds using the company’s building tools and scripting language. Content on the platform spans games, virtual hangouts, branded experiences and live events, all delivered through a persistent social environment.

Roblox’s business model is built around its virtual economy and creator ecosystem.