Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires 1,401,664 Shares of Roku, Inc. $ROKU

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC sharply increased its Roku stake in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 7,087.7% to 1,421,440 shares valued at about $154.2 million.
• Several Roku insiders sold shares recently, including CEO Anthony J. Wood and insider Charles Collier, with insider sales totaling 713,194 shares worth roughly $81.8 million over the last 90 days.
• Wall Street views on Roku remain mixed despite the stock’s strong run: analysts have set targets mostly around $153.71 on average, while the stock has traded near its 12-month high after a better-than-expected earnings report.

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU - Free Report) by 7,087.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,421,440 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,401,664 shares during the quarter. Roku accounts for approximately 0.6% of Fred Alger Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.96% of Roku worth $154,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Roku by 680.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 234 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Roku in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Roku during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Roku by 55.6% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Roku during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 86.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Roku

In other news, insider Charles Collier sold 20,537 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.94, for a total transaction of $2,565,892.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,899,088. This trade represents a 57.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Anthony J. 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 713,194 shares of company stock worth $81,763,589 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on ROKU shares. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna downgraded Roku from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Roku in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research downgraded Roku from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wedbush downgraded Roku from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $153.71.

Roku Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of ROKU stock opened at $137.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $120.40 and a 200-day moving average of $106.95. Roku, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.64 and a 12-month high of $148.88. The firm has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.72 and a beta of 2.06.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. Roku's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Roku, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Roku News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fox agreed to buy Roku (ROKU) for about $22 billion, valuing shares at $160 each and giving Roku holders cash plus Fox stock; the deal has driven takeover speculation and a higher valuation for the company. Fox to buy Roku in $22 billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms raised or reiterated bullish views on Roku (ROKU), including higher price targets around $160 to $175, supporting the stock after the acquisition news. Analyst updates on Roku
• Neutral Sentiment: Law firms have begun investigating whether the proposed Fox deal gives Roku (ROKU) shareholders a fair price, which adds some uncertainty but does not change the deal terms yet. Fairness investigation into Roku sale
• Negative Sentiment: Roku CFO Dan Jedda sold 7,000 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, which may weigh on sentiment even though the sale was disclosed as routine. Roku insider sale

Roku 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ROKU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.