Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Upgraded to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Roku has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting renewed optimism among equities researchers.
• Several brokerage firms have adjusted their price targets for Roku's stock, with JMP Securities raising it to $110.00, while Evercore ISI reduced it to $80.00.
• Insider trading shows significant activity, including CFO Dan Jedda selling 3,000 shares, and another insider reducing their position by nearly 100%.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Roku from $129.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Roku in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Roku from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Roku from $90.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, FBN Securities assumed coverage on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $93.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.92.

Roku Stock Performance

Shares of ROKU traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $90.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,970,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,576,802. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $81.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.60. Roku has a 12-month low of $48.33 and a 12-month high of $104.96.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.08. Roku had a negative net margin of 2.49% and a negative return on equity of 4.29%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.35) earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Roku will post -0.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Dan Jedda sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total transaction of $270,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 76,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,867,106.40. This trade represents a 3.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles Collier sold 212,559 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $20,193,105.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 200 shares in the company, valued at $19,000. The trade was a 99.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 309,079 shares of company stock worth $28,091,399. 13.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in Roku by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,070 shares of the company's stock worth $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 5,803 shares of the company's stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 2,508 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 327.1% during the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 457 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, True Vision MN LLC raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. True Vision MN LLC now owns 5,544 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.30% of the company's stock.

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.