Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Trading Down 1.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) traded down 1.5% on Friday after Wedbush lowered their price target on the stock from $120.00 to $80.00. Wedbush currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Roku traded as low as $57.26 and last traded at $57.79. 895,092 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 5,635,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.69.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ROKU. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Roku from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Roku from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Pivotal Research decreased their target price on Roku from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Roku in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Roku from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey M. Blackburn purchased 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.96 per share, with a total value of $511,680.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $511,680. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Anthony J. Wood sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.64, for a total value of $2,466,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 141,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,930,039.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey M. Blackburn acquired 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.96 per share, for a total transaction of $511,680.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $511,680. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,545 shares of company stock valued at $4,364,035. Company insiders own 13.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Roku

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROKU. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Roku during the 1st quarter valued at $955,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Roku by 45.2% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Roku by 2.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 94,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,806,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Roku by 32.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 2,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Roku by 8.6% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. 86.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Roku Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a PE ratio of -11.52 and a beta of 1.66.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.55) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.65) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $984.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.72 million. Roku had a negative net margin of 20.36% and a negative return on equity of 29.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.70) EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Roku, Inc. will post -2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Roku Company Profile

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.