Roku Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:ROKU)

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 12,705 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 179% compared to the average volume of 4,546 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Fox Advisors set a $157.00 price objective on Roku in a report on Friday, July 17th. Seaport Research Partners cut Roku from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Roku in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Roku in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Roku from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nineteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Roku has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.17.

Insider Transactions at Roku

In related news, SVP Christopher Handman sold 2,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $466,764.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,400,293.08. This represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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. Also, insider Gilbert Fuchsberg sold 10,719 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $1,607,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 40,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,057,000. This trade represents a 20.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,747 shares of company stock worth $15,253,772. Company insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROKU. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Roku by 229.5% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,038,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,772 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Roku by 22.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,565,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,090,000 after purchasing an additional 290,200 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P bought a new position in Roku during the second quarter worth $163,604,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Roku by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,082,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,450,000 after purchasing an additional 56,893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Roku by 1,320.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 834,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,967,000 after purchasing an additional 775,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

Roku News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Roku reported third-quarter revenue of $1.50 billion, up 24.1% year over year and above analyst expectations of $1.41 billion. EPS of $1.20 also exceeded the $0.55 consensus, while net income reached $183 million. Advertising revenue rose 23%, helping drive the profit improvement. Roku earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Fox reportedly received all foreign regulatory approvals for its proposed acquisition of Roku, helping narrow the deal spread. The transaction still faces remaining steps before closing. Fox-Roku regulatory update
• Neutral Sentiment: Executives’ share sales may attract attention, but both the director and chief accounting officer sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which limits the signal these transactions provide about their view of the stock. Director sale filing Chief accounting officer sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Roku from “buy” to “neutral,” setting a $160 price target—close to the recent trading level and suggesting limited near-term upside in the firm’s view. Analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Roku said it expects heavier costs in the fourth quarter, which could temper the impact of the strong results. Earnings cost commentary

Roku Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ROKU opened at $160.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $155.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.06. Roku has a one year low of $78.53 and a one year high of $161.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 47.44 and a beta of 2.12.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Roku had a return on equity of 19.19% and a net margin of 9.34%. The business’s revenue was up 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Roku will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Roku

Roku, Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) operates a television streaming platform that connects consumers with digital entertainment. The company develops and licenses Roku OS, an operating system for smart televisions and streaming devices, and offers Roku-branded streaming players, Roku TVs, audio products and related accessories.

Roku also operates a platform business that distributes streaming content through its interface and supports content discovery, subscriptions and digital advertising. Its services include The Roku Channel, which provides a selection of ad-supported and premium entertainment, as well as tools that enable content providers and advertisers to reach streaming audiences.

Founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, Roku initially became known for its streaming players and later expanded through partnerships with television manufacturers.