Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $150.37 and last traded at $149.4870, with a volume of 321851 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $146.96.

Key Roku News

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are revising forecasts ahead of Roku’s earnings call, highlighting investor interest in potential strength across the platform business, including advertising, streaming engagement and revenue growth. Favorable results or guidance could support further gains. Benzinga analyst forecast article
• Positive Sentiment: Roku expanded its free, ad-supported live TV lineup with four additional channels. More content could increase viewing time and strengthen the company’s advertising ecosystem over time. Roku free live TV article
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer-electronics coverage of an upcoming Aurzen Roku TV portable projector priced below $70 may broaden Roku-branded distribution and product visibility, although the immediate financial impact is uncertain. Android Authority projector article
• Neutral Sentiment: Roku’s stock is approaching a three-year high ahead of earnings, indicating strong investor positioning but also leaving the shares vulnerable to volatility if results or guidance fall short. Schaeffers Research earnings article
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares near $146 per share, including Chief Accounting Officer Matthew Banks, Director Neil Hunt and insider Charles Collier. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their signaling value, but the sizable sales may still weigh modestly on sentiment. Roku insider-selling article
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on potential weakness in Roku’s device business, advertising performance and the pending Fox acquisition. Because the stock is richly valued, disappointing quarterly results or cautious guidance could lead to a sharp decline. Yahoo Finance Roku earnings preview

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ROKU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Roku in a report on Friday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Roku in a report on Monday, June 15th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Roku from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Evercore lowered shares of Roku from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Roku from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Roku has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.12.

Roku Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $137.55 and its 200 day moving average is $115.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.79 and a beta of 2.01.

Insider Buying and Selling at Roku

In other Roku news, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 552 shares of Roku stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.25, for a total transaction of $80,730.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,619 shares in the company, valued at $968,028.75. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Mustafa Ozgen sold 10,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total transaction of $1,467,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,185 shares in the company, valued at $2,762,640. This trade represents a 34.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 226,733 shares of company stock valued at $29,862,532 in the last quarter. 13.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Roku

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROKU. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Roku by 680.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Bayban raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 1,300.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Roku in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Roku during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Roku by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

About Roku

Roku, Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) is a technology company that develops and operates a proprietary streaming platform designed to deliver entertainment content to consumers via internet-connected devices and smart televisions. Since its inception in 2002 in California, Roku has focused on simplifying access to streaming services for viewers worldwide. The company’s platform enables users to discover, access and manage a wide array of over-the-top content from major streaming services, free ad-supported channels and niche providers.

At the core of Roku’s product lineup are a range of streaming players and sticks, which connect to televisions via HDMI and deliver the Roku OS experience.