Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU)’s stock price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $155.13 and last traded at $154.67. Approximately 1,783,918 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 3,280,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ROKU. UBS Group increased their price target on Roku from $126.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Guggenheim lowered Roku from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Roku from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Roku in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective (down from $167.00) on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nineteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.17.

Roku Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.10 and a beta of 2.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $154.66 and a 200 day moving average of $136.62.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.47. Roku had a return on equity of 13.73% and a net margin of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. Roku’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Roku, Inc. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Roku

In related news, insider Charles Collier sold 20,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.63, for a total transaction of $3,114,176.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,442,001. This trade represents a 47.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.21, for a total transaction of $84,324.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,151,925.28. This represents a 6.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 112,285 shares of company stock worth $17,154,985. Corporate insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Roku by 229.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,038,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,868,000 after buying an additional 1,419,772 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in Roku by 7,087.7% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,421,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401,664 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in Roku during the second quarter worth about $163,604,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Roku by 1,320.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 834,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,967,000 after acquiring an additional 775,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Roku during the second quarter valued at approximately $105,216,000. 86.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Roku

Roku, Inc develops and operates a television streaming platform that connects consumers with digital entertainment. Its platform enables users to access streaming services, live television, movies, music and other content through Roku devices and Roku-powered televisions.

The company offers Roku streaming players, Roku-branded televisions and the Roku operating system, which it licenses to television manufacturers. Roku also operates The Roku Channel, an ad-supported streaming service offering movies, television programs, news, live channels and other content.