Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after Citizens Jmp raised their price target on the stock from $170.00 to $175.00. Citizens Jmp currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Approximately 5,231,883 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session’s volume of 3,154,038 shares.The stock last traded at $140.4840 and had previously closed at $143.66.

ROKU has been the topic of a number of other reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Roku from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Roku from $137.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Roku in a research report on Monday. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Roku from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 target price on shares of Roku in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.42.

Insider Activity at Roku

In related news, insider Mustafa Ozgen sold 10,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total value of $1,467,936.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,185 shares in the company, valued at $2,762,640. This represents a 34.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Charles Collier sold 205,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $21,611,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,131 shares in the company, valued at $1,168,755. This represents a 94.87% 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. Insiders have sold 706,194 shares of company stock worth $80,756,499 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Roku

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fox Corp. agreed to acquire Roku in a $22 billion deal, offering $96 in cash and Fox stock for each Roku share and signaling a major strategic premium for shareholders. Reuters: Fox to buy Roku in $22 billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: Roku saw unusually heavy call-option buying, suggesting traders are positioning for continued upside or further deal-related volatility. Seeking Alpha: Roku, Inc. (ROKU) M&A Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP raised its price target on Roku to $175 and kept an “outperform” rating, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock after the deal announcement. Benzinga report on Citizens JMP price target increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical indicators also turned supportive, with reports that Roku recently moved above its 20-day and 50-day moving averages, which may have added momentum before the acquisition news.
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted the offer’s premium may be modest relative to recent trading, and a shareholder law firm launched an investigation into whether Roku investors are getting a fair price, which could create deal uncertainty. PR Newswire: Shareholder Alert

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROKU. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Roku by 275.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,586,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,407 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Roku by 229.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,038,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,772 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its position in shares of Roku by 7,087.7% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,421,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401,664 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Roku by 352.3% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,650,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Roku during the fourth quarter worth $92,808,000. 86.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Roku Trading Down 1.1%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $118.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.32. The company has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.11 and a beta of 2.06.

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

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.