Anthony Wood Sells 25,000 Shares of Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Stock

Key Points

• Roku CEO Anthony Wood sold 25,000 shares on Friday at an average price of $130 each, totaling about $3.25 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which helps reduce the signal of discretionary insider timing.
• Roku stock surged 20.1% in the session, trading as high as $143.66 amid heavy volume well above normal. The move leaves the shares near their 52-week high of $148.88.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.57 versus the $0.34 estimate and revenue up 22.4% year over year. Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with multiple firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy.

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) CEO Anthony Wood sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $3,250,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Roku Stock Up 20.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ROKU traded up $24.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.66. 14,999,929 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,010,160. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $118.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.23. Roku, Inc. has a one year low of $73.91 and a one year high of $148.88. The company has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.02 and a beta of 2.06.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Roku's revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Roku, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROKU has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on Roku from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Roku from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Roku from $137.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Roku from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Roku presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $146.96.

Key Roku News

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Roku is reportedly in sale talks, including a possible media tie-up, which could signal a strategic transaction or premium valuation if a deal materializes. Roku said to be in sale talks, including likely media tie-up, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target to $185 from $160 and kept a bullish rating, reinforcing optimism around Roku’s monetization efforts in its home screen and advertising-tech initiatives. Roku shares jump as fresh bullish analyst notes extend recent price-target hikes
• Positive Sentiment: Additional recent price-target hikes from firms like Morgan Stanley have added to the bullish analyst narrative, suggesting Wall Street sees more upside in Roku’s ad and platform strategy. Roku shares jump as fresh bullish analyst notes extend recent price-target hikes
• Neutral Sentiment: Several media stories highlighted Roku’s expanding free channels and consumer product discounts, but these appear more promotional than material fundamental catalysts. Roku Quietly Added Four New Free Channels For The Month Of June
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Anthony Wood sold 18,000 shares in a pre-arranged trading plan, which may add some caution, although the sale was not necessarily a bearish signal. Roku NASDAQ: ROKU CEO Anthony Wood Sells 18,000 Shares

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Roku by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,998,674 shares of the company's stock worth $1,301,557,000 after buying an additional 322,858 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Roku by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,860,149 shares of the company's stock worth $310,298,000 after buying an additional 274,024 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Roku by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,464,130 shares of the company's stock worth $267,389,000 after buying an additional 168,214 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Roku by 229.5% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,038,347 shares of the company's stock worth $192,868,000 after buying an additional 1,419,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Roku by 352.3% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,650,448 shares of the company's stock worth $165,259,000 after buying an additional 1,285,585 shares during the last quarter. 86.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Roku Company Profile

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.

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