Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Roblox Co. (NYSE:RBLX) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $58.29, but opened at $62.23. Roblox shares last traded at $58.83, with a volume of 3,314,647 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RBLX. OTR Global raised shares of Roblox from a “mixed” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Roblox from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Roblox in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Roblox from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Roblox in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Roblox presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.23.

Roblox Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.82. The stock has a market cap of $37.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.43 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.65.

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.13. Roblox had a negative return on equity of 665.98% and a negative net margin of 25.97%. Analysts anticipate that Roblox Co. will post -1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Roblox

In related news, insider Manuel Bronstein sold 14,721 shares of Roblox stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.10, for a total value of $899,453.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 598,929 shares in the company, valued at $36,594,561.90. The trade was a 2.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mark Reinstra sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.98, for a total value of $3,249,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 281,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,269,841.78. The trade was a 15.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 926,466 shares of company stock worth $60,212,297 in the last three months. Insiders own 22.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Roblox

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RBLX. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Roblox by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Roblox by 74.8% in the 4th quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in Roblox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Roblox by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Roblox by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.46% of the company’s stock.

About Roblox

Roblox Corporation develops and operates an online entertainment platform in the United States and internationally. It offers Roblox Studio, a free toolset that allows developers and creators to build, publish, and operate 3D experiences, and other content; Roblox Client, an application that allows users to explore 3D experience; and Roblox Cloud, which provides services and infrastructure that power the platform.