Short Interest in Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) Drops By 42.4%

Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 13,884,449 shares, a decrease of 42.4% from the July 30th total of 24,107,149 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 16,510,605 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Roblox Stock Up 7.2%

RBLX traded up $2.79 during trading on Monday, reaching $41.32. The stock had a trading volume of 18,365,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,875,056. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.82. The company has a market capitalization of $27.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.90 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.60. Roblox has a one year low of $33.88 and a one year high of $142.00.

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

Roblox announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Roblox

In other Roblox news, CEO David Baszucki sold 52,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.96, for a total value of $1,995,481.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 799,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,354,562.16. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Naveen K. Chopra sold 17,509 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.96, for a total transaction of $664,641.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 363,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,788,932.04. This represents a 4.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 168,213 shares of company stock worth $6,831,901 over the last ninety days. 10.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Roblox

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Roblox by 5,370.1% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 49,445,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,688,852,000 after buying an additional 48,541,681 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Roblox by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,953,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,589,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,184,439 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Roblox by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,728,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,679,664,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,549 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Roblox by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,812,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,216,000 after acquiring an additional 442,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Roblox by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,220,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,002,000 after purchasing an additional 547,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on RBLX. Wedbush lowered shares of Roblox from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Roblox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $56.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Roblox in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Roblox from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $33.00 price target on shares of Roblox in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.89.

Roblox Company Profile

Roblox Corporation operates Roblox, a user-generated online platform that enables people to create, share and monetize immersive 3D experiences and games. The core offering centers on Roblox Studio, a development environment that allows independent creators and studios to design interactive worlds using the company’s building tools and scripting language. Content on the platform spans games, virtual hangouts, branded experiences and live events, all delivered through a persistent social environment.

Roblox’s business model is built around its virtual economy and creator ecosystem.