Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at UBS Group

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ROKU. Bank of America began coverage on Roku in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Compass Point started coverage on Roku in a report on Sunday, March 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Moffett Nathanson raised Roku from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Roku from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Roku from $92.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.55.

Roku Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROKU opened at $72.49 on Thursday. Roku has a fifty-two week low of $48.33 and a fifty-two week high of $104.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a PE ratio of -81.45 and a beta of 2.12. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.59.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Roku had a negative return on equity of 5.34% and a negative net margin of 3.15%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Roku will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 1,906 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.36, for a total transaction of $153,166.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $583,092.16. This trade represents a 20.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Dan Jedda sold 1,000 shares of Roku stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.18, for a total value of $77,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 63,555 shares in the company, valued at $4,905,174.90. The trade was a 1.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,908 shares of company stock valued at $8,633,436 in the last ninety days. 13.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roku

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Roku by 73.0% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 101,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,580,000 after acquiring an additional 42,837 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Roku by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Roku by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 505,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,735,000 after purchasing an additional 137,259 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC increased its holdings in Roku by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 79,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,899,000 after buying an additional 47,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 470.2% during the third quarter. JAT Capital Mgmt LP now owns 540,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,359,000 after purchasing an additional 445,777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

About Roku

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.