Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Trading Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) shot up 0.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $67.62 and last traded at $66.71. 717,952 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 4,400,405 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Roku from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Roku from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Roku from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Roku from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Roku from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Roku currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.62.

Roku Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $73.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.28.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Roku had a negative net margin of 4.42% and a negative return on equity of 7.22%. The company’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.33) EPS. Analysts forecast that Roku, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Roku news, CEO Anthony J. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $1,930,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,544. This represents a 83.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 8,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.44, for a total value of $621,027.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $518,940.16. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 90,240 shares of company stock valued at $6,729,582. Company insiders own 13.98% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Roku by 4.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 71,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,640,000 after buying an additional 3,104 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Roku by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 197,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,845,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Roku by 564.6% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,586 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Roku during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,180,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 240.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 41,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,724,000 after purchasing an additional 29,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

About Roku

Roku, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a TV streaming platform in the United states and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Platform and Devices. Its streaming platform allows users to find and access TV shows, movies, news, sports, and others. The Platform segment offers digital advertising, including direct and programmatic video advertising, media and entertainment promotional spending, and related services; and streaming services distribution, such as subscription and transaction revenue shares, and sale of premium subscriptions and branded app buttons on remote controls.