Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Roku from a “strong-buy” to a “hold,” even though 21 analysts still give Buy ratings versus five Holds and the consensus price target stands at $127.79.
• Roku beat the latest quarter with $0.53 EPS (vs. $0.28 expected) and $1.39B revenue (up 16.1% YoY), but analysts on average forecast about -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Insiders have sold heavily — including CEO Anthony Wood’s ~50,000‑share sale (~$5M) and roughly $39.5M of insider disposals in the last 90 days — which may weigh on sentiment ahead of Q1 earnings on April 30.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ROKU. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Roku from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Arete Research set a $132.00 target price on shares of Roku and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Roku in a report on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Roku in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Roku from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Roku presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.79.

Roku Price Performance

NASDAQ:ROKU opened at $109.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.81 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.68. Roku has a 1-year low of $57.01 and a 1-year high of $116.66.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Roku had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 3.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Roku will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Roku

In related news, Director Neil D. Hunt sold 2,000 shares of Roku stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.54, for a total value of $191,080.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $743,492.28. This trade represents a 20.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 728 shares of Roku stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.02, for a total transaction of $69,902.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,947 shares in the company, valued at $667,050.94. This represents a 9.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 390,944 shares of company stock worth $39,509,185 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.98% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Roku by 680.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 234 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Roku during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Roku during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Roku during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Roku during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.30% of the company's stock.

Roku News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets (Jefferies, Morgan Stanley, Pivotal, Oppenheimer, Baird) bolster bullish expectations for Roku's ad-revenue and valuation upside. Jefferies forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Company announced platform and financial-reporting changes that investors interpreted as a step toward clearer earnings transparency and improved monetization — a near-term reason traders pushed the stock higher. Why Roku stock up
• Positive Sentiment: Product/content wins: restored offline local-TV access (reduces user friction) and new content deals (sports exclusives, a women’s sports docuseries) should support engagement and ad inventory growth. Offline local TV restore Gamechangers docuseries
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option activity suggests traders are positioning bullishly into near-term catalysts (no specific article link).
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming Q1 2026 earnings on April 30 is the next major catalyst that will test whether ad revenue and margin trends justify recent bullishness. Earnings date
• Neutral Sentiment: Resolved a streaming-app issue for NEWS CENTER Maine+ which alleviates a localized customer service concern but is unlikely to move fundamentals materially. News Center fix
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Anthony Wood sold 50,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan (~$5.0M), and other insider dispositions totaling roughly $21.6M were reported this week; insider sales can weigh on sentiment even if not tied to company fundamentals. SEC Form 4 Insider sales article
• Negative Sentiment: Roku faces a discrimination lawsuit alleging HR ignored racism complaints — a legal and reputational risk that could draw attention and distraction for management. Discrimination suit

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.

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.