BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 1,684,411 Shares of Roblox Corporation $RBLX

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets nearly doubled its Roblox stake in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 1,684,411 shares and bringing its total holding to 3,377,673 shares worth about $273.7 million.
• Roblox recently reported quarterly earnings of ($0.35) per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 43.4% year over year to $1.44 billion but still came in below analyst expectations.
• The company’s board approved a $3 billion share buyback program, while analysts remain mixed on the stock with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $87.07.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX - Free Report) by 99.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,377,673 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,684,411 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.52% of Roblox worth $273,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Roblox by 1.4% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,294 shares of the company's stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Roblox by 58.7% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 284 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Roblox by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 4,042 shares of the company's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Roblox by 0.6% in the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 20,043 shares of the company's stock worth $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Roblox by 1.3% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the company's stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew D. Kaufman sold 14,356 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.27, for a total transaction of $649,896.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 349,964 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,842,870.28. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Sean Jack Buckley sold 4,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.36, for a total transaction of $219,931.84. Following the sale, the insider owned 97,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,503,456.76. This trade represents a 4.66% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 183,471 shares of company stock worth $8,930,068. 10.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RBLX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Roblox from $140.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research cut shares of Roblox from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Roblox from a "hold" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Roblox in a report on Friday, May 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Roblox in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Roblox presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.07.

Roblox Stock Performance

NYSE:RBLX opened at $47.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.81 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $52.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.51. Roblox Corporation has a twelve month low of $40.15 and a twelve month high of $150.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45.

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

Roblox announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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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