Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Purchases 365,125 Shares of Roblox Corporation $RBLX

Key Points

• Artisan Partners increased its Roblox stake by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 365,125 additional shares and lifting its total holding to 2,292,340 shares worth about $185.7 million.
• Roblox reported quarterly earnings of -$0.35 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 43.4% year over year to $1.44 billion. The company also announced a $3 billion stock buyback plan covering up to 9.5% of its shares.
• Wall Street views remain mixed: several firms cut price targets or ratings, and the stock currently carries a Hold consensus with an average target price of $87.07. Meanwhile, Roblox has also faced insider selling and ongoing investor focus on safety-related changes and class action concerns.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX - Free Report) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,292,340 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 365,125 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.35% of Roblox worth $185,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Roblox in the fourth quarter worth $435,424,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Roblox by 5.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,437,998 shares of the company's stock worth $8,648,911,000 after buying an additional 3,284,073 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,184,439 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Roblox by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,377,673 shares of the company's stock worth $273,693,000 after buying an additional 1,684,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Roblox by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,728,914 shares of the company's stock worth $1,679,664,000 after buying an additional 1,555,549 shares during the last quarter. 94.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Roblox Stock Up 8.4%

NYSE:RBLX opened at $49.48 on Wednesday. Roblox Corporation has a twelve month low of $40.15 and a twelve month high of $150.59. The company has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.32 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45.

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.41) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Roblox had a negative return on equity of 277.69% and a negative net margin of 20.69%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 43.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.32) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Roblox Corporation will post -1.4 EPS for the current year.

Roblox announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 19th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

More Roblox News

Here are the key news stories impacting Roblox this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Roblox announced the global rollout of Roblox Kids and Roblox Select, new age-based accounts for users under 16 designed to strengthen child safety and adapt protections as children grow. Roblox Kids and Roblox Select Accounts Now Available Worldwide
• Positive Sentiment: Traders bought an unusually large number of Roblox call options, signaling speculative interest that can support the stock in the short term. Unusual options trading activity
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage around Roblox’s safety upgrades and global platform durability has highlighted potential improvements to the company’s long-term compliance posture and international access, including recent reporting that Russia lifted its ban after Roblox pledged better protections for young users. Roblox Sprints on Kids Products Rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts also pointed to stronger weekend engagement tied to a popular game, which may help offset some concerns about user growth, but this appears more like a usage trend than a major new catalyst. Roblox sees weekend engagement surge on Grow a Garden 2 — TD Cowen
• Negative Sentiment: Roblox faces multiple securities class action notices and law-firm reminders ahead of the August 7 lead-plaintiff deadline, keeping investor focus on alleged disclosure issues around the impact of age-verification changes on DAUs and growth expectations. RBLX Court Deadline: Roblox Corporation Investors are Notified of the Important August 7 Deadline in the Pending Securities Fraud Class Action Lawsuit

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on RBLX shares. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Roblox in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Roblox from $74.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. HSBC downgraded Roblox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Roblox in a research report on Friday, May 1st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Roblox from $125.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Roblox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $87.07.

Insider Transactions at Roblox

In related news, insider Sean Jack Buckley sold 4,744 shares of Roblox stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.36, for a total value of $219,931.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 97,141 shares in the company, valued at $4,503,456.76. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Amy Marie Rawlings sold 2,895 shares of Roblox stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.24, for a total value of $130,969.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 35,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,594,167.12. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 189,449 shares of company stock valued at $9,179,410 over the last three months. 10.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Roblox 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.

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