Wedbush Reiterates "Neutral" Rating for Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU)

Key Points

• Wedbush reiterated its “Neutral” rating on Roku with a $155 price target, implying approximately 1.09% upside; analysts overall have a consensus “Hold” rating and $156.17 target.
• Roku reported quarterly revenue of $1.35 billion, up 21.9% year over year and above estimates, while EPS of $1.08 exceeded consensus by $0.47.
• Roku shares recently traded at $153.33, near their 52-week high of $159.89, while insiders sold 112,285 shares worth about $16.9 million over the past three months.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating restated by Wedbush in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush's target price points to a potential upside of 1.09% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Roku from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Roku from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Roku in a report on Monday, June 15th. Citizens Jmp lowered shares of Roku from a "market outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Evercore lowered shares of Roku from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nineteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Roku has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.17.

Roku Price Performance

Shares of ROKU stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $153.33. 1,963,187 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,434,843. Roku has a fifty-two week low of $78.53 and a fifty-two week high of $159.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $152.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.65. The company has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.53 and a beta of 2.05.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.47. Roku had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. Roku's quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Roku will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Roku

In other news, insider Charles Collier sold 20,538 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.99, for a total transaction of $3,224,260.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,673. This trade represents a 47.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Gilbert Fuchsberg sold 4,824 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $750,807.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,251,747.52. This represents a 10.72% 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. Insiders have sold 112,285 shares of company stock valued at $16,939,414 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.45% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Roku

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ROKU. Bayban increased its holdings 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. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Roku by 208.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 318 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Roku in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Roku in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Roku by 175.0% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 550 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. 86.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Roku Company Profile

Roku, Inc NASDAQ: ROKU operates a television streaming platform that connects consumers with digital entertainment. Its Roku operating system powers streaming players, Roku-branded televisions and smart-TV products made by licensing partners. The platform provides access to streaming services, live television, movies, music and other applications.

The company also operates The Roku Channel, its own ad-supported streaming service offering licensed and original content, including movies, television programs, live channels and premium subscription options.