Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Wedbush raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $48.00. The stock had previously closed at $45.50, but opened at $47.50. Wedbush currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Roblox shares last traded at $48.0180, with a volume of 2,563,675 shares traded.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Roblox in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Roblox in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Roblox from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Roblox from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Roblox from $70.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Roblox currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.14.

Insider Transactions at Roblox

In other Roblox news, insider Sean Buckley sold 4,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.68, for a total value of $167,136.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 87,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,398.84. This represents a 4.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Mark Reinstra sold 5,773 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total value of $258,630.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 392,291 shares in the company, valued at $17,574,636.80. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,236 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,642. 10.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Roblox by 2.3% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Roblox by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Roblox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Roblox by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Roblox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $438,000. 94.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Roblox Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $44.37 and its 200-day moving average is $50.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.72 and a beta of 1.47.

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.60 billion. Roblox had a negative net margin of 17.60% and a negative return on equity of 292.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Roblox Corporation will post -1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Roblox declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 19th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Roblox

Roblox Corporation develops and operates Roblox, an online platform where users can create, share and play interactive experiences. The platform supports a broad range of user-generated content, including games, social spaces, educational activities and entertainment experiences, and is accessible across computers, mobile devices, consoles and other supported platforms.

Roblox provides development tools through Roblox Studio, while its virtual economy uses Robux, a digital currency that users can purchase and spend on virtual items, avatar customization and other platform content.