Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Trading Down 2.2% Following Insider Selling

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) fell 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $118.03 and last traded at $120.91. 3,312,746 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 3,050,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.57.

Specifically, insider Charles Collier sold 20,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.94, for a total transaction of $2,565,892.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,899,088. This trade represents a 57.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Christopher T. Handman sold 2,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total transaction of $381,652.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,998 shares in the company, valued at $763,305.48. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In other Roku news, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total transaction of $69,483.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $983,083.50. This trade represents a 6.60% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Roku in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Roku from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Roku from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Roku from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Roku presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.50.

Key Roku News

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Roku is seeing heavy investor interest, with Zacks highlighting the stock as one of the more closely watched names as traders look for catalysts tied to the company’s growth and advertising potential. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst tone remains constructive overall, with Roku carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and several firms recently raising price targets, reinforcing expectations for continued upside if the company executes well. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Product and promotion headlines around Roku devices and streaming bundles may be helping keep the brand visible with consumers, which can support engagement and platform adoption. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Roku’s streaming platform and device lineup continue to attract attention through media coverage of new content and hardware offers, which underscores ongoing consumer relevance. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed 0 shares reported, so the update does not provide a meaningful new bearish or bullish signal for the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Charles Collier sold 20,537 shares of Roku at an average price of $124.94, a move that can weigh on sentiment even though it was made under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plan. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Another report noted that Roku’s home screen now includes a permanent ad, which could frustrate users and raise concerns about ad clutter on the platform. Article title

Roku Stock Down 2.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 90.91 and a beta of 2.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.41.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Roku had a return on equity of 7.64% and a net margin of 4.06%.The business’s revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Roku, Inc. will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Roku by 680.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Roku in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bayban increased its stake in Roku by 1,300.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Roku during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Roku during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 86.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.