Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Stock: Insider Neil Hunt Sells 2,000 Shares

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) Director Neil Hunt sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.17, for a total value of $312,340.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,629 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,760.93. This trade represents a 17.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Roku Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ROKU opened at $162.77 on Thursday. Roku, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.53 and a 12 month high of $163.08. The company has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.16 and a beta of 2.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.34.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Roku had a return on equity of 18.65% and a net margin of 9.34%. Roku’s revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Roku, Inc. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Roku

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Roku recently reported quarterly revenue of $1.50 billion, up 24.1% year over year and above estimates; EPS of $1.20 also topped the $0.55 consensus. The strong results provide a fundamental tailwind for the stock. Roku earnings story
• Positive Sentiment: Roku moved above its 20-day moving average after finding support, a technical signal the cited analysis views as indicating short-term bullish momentum. The article’s “golden cross” wording refers to this moving-average breakout, rather than establishing a longer-term trend by itself. Technical analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading in Roku call options was unusually high, with volume about 179% above its typical level. This indicates increased options activity but does not establish whether investors’ overall outlook is bullish or bearish.
• Neutral Sentiment: A director and the chief accounting officer sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions may draw attention, but the plans make them less clear as a signal of current insider sentiment. Director sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities cut its rating on Roku from “buy” to “hold” and set a $160 price target, signaling less optimism about near-term upside. Rosenblatt rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Roku is retiring its popular Aquatic Life screensaver, prompting negative reactions from some users. The customer response could weigh on sentiment, although the likely financial impact is unclear. Screensaver coverage

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ROKU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Roku in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Roku from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Roku from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Roku in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Roku from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.17.

Institutional Trading of Roku

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROKU. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in 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. HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in Roku in the second quarter valued at approximately $163,604,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Roku by 1,320.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Roku in the second quarter worth approximately $105,216,000. Finally, Alua Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Roku in the first quarter worth approximately $44,869,000. 86.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Roku Company Profile

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.