Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Shares Up 2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares of Roku climbed about 2% after Citigroup raised its price target to $120 (from $100); several other analysts also lifted targets, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $142.17 target.
• Roku beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.57 vs. $0.34 and revenue of $1.25 billion (up 22% YoY), and management highlighted record free cash flow, subscription growth and new low-cost service "Howdy" as tailwinds.
• Insiders sold roughly 630,182 shares (about $66.9M) over the last three months, while institutional investors hold about 86.3% of the company shares.

Shares of Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) shot up 2% on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $120.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Roku traded as high as $127.90 and last traded at $126.02. 3,713,308 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average session volume of 3,317,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.58.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Roku in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Roku from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Roku from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Roku from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Roku from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Neil D. Hunt sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $743,492.28. The trade was a 20.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CFO Dan Jedda sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $749,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,358,305. This trade represents a 8.22% 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 three months, insiders sold 630,182 shares of company stock valued at $66,865,773. 13.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Roku News

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings beat — Roku reported Q1 results that topped consensus on both revenue and EPS, with platform revenue and advertising strength highlighted; this drove the immediate positive market reaction. ROKU Shares Rise 6% on Q1 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Record free cash flow / subscription growth — Management reported record free cash flow and continued subscription/ad growth, improving the company's profitability trajectory and supporting valuation multiple expansion. Zacks: Shares Rise on Q1 Beat
• Positive Sentiment: New product / service tailwinds — Roku’s low-cost streaming service "Howdy" (around $3/month) and additions of free channel content expand monetization and engagement levers. Why Howdy Is Worth $3/Month
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and investor attention — Multiple outlets (Zacks, Yahoo) note increased investor searches and momentum metrics for ROKU, reflecting heightened interest but not a directional call by itself. Roku Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation analysis — Recent strong returns have drawn fresh valuation scrutiny; analysts and outlets are reassessing whether current gains are justified versus fundamentals. Assessing Roku Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Citigroup price-target change — Citi raised its price target from $100 to $120 but kept a "neutral" rating; that $120 target implies downside versus the current trade level, which could limit further analyst-driven upside. Benzinga: Citi Raises PT to $120
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns — Coverage about data/advertising privacy on Roku TVs could raise reputational or regulatory questions that investors should monitor. Your Roku TV Is Watching You

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Roku by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,998,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,301,557,000 after purchasing an additional 322,858 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Roku by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,860,149 shares of the company's stock worth $310,298,000 after purchasing an additional 274,024 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Roku by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,464,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,389,000 after buying an additional 168,214 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in Roku by 352.3% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,650,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,259,000 after buying an additional 1,285,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Roku by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,509,686 shares of the company's stock worth $163,786,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.30% of the company's stock.

Roku Stock Up 2.0%

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $100.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.88. The company has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 94.75 and a beta of 2.04.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.23. Roku had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 7.68%. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Roku, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.