Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) Short Interest Up 51.6% in August

Key Points

• Roku's short interest skyrocketed by 51.6% in August, reaching a total of 10,140,000 shares as of August 15th, indicating increased bearish sentiment among investors.
• Analyst ratings for Roku are generally positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $98.96, reflecting expected growth in the company's stock.
• Insiders conducted significant transactions, with over 343,588 shares sold in recent months, highlighting changes in ownership stakes among company executives.

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,140,000 shares, anincreaseof51.6% from the July 31st total of 6,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ROKU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Roku in a report on Monday, August 25th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Roku from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Roku from $65.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Roku in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Roku in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.96.

Insider Transactions at Roku

In other news, insider Charles Collier sold 10,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.14, for a total value of $1,018,068.66. Following the transaction, the insider owned 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,828. The trade was a 98.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 2,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.85, for a total value of $213,313.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,986.75. The trade was a 28.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 343,588 shares of company stock worth $31,759,978 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Roku

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ROKU. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Roku by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 43,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,545 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Roku by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 331,682 shares of the company's stock worth $24,657,000 after buying an additional 104,723 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Roku by 374.0% during the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 46,804 shares of the company's stock worth $3,479,000 after buying an additional 36,929 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Roku by 505.3% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,296,774 shares of the company's stock worth $96,402,000 after buying an additional 1,082,548 shares during the period. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP lifted its position in Roku by 973.1% during the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 354,326 shares of the company's stock worth $26,341,000 after buying an additional 321,307 shares during the period. 86.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Roku Price Performance

Roku stock traded down $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $95.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,242,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,132,009. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -226.76, a PEG ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 2.05. Roku has a 1-year low of $52.43 and a 1-year high of $104.96. The stock's fifty day moving average is $90.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.18.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.23. Roku had a negative return on equity of 2.44% and a negative net margin of 1.40%.The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Roku has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Roku will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Roku Company Profile

Roku, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a TV streaming platform in the United states and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Platform and Devices. Its streaming platform allows users to find and access TV shows, movies, news, sports, and others. The Platform segment offers digital advertising, including direct and programmatic video advertising, media and entertainment promotional spending, and related services; and streaming services distribution, such as subscription and transaction revenue shares, and sale of premium subscriptions and branded app buttons on remote controls.

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