Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Shares Up 2.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) rose 2.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $115.00 and last traded at $111.17. Approximately 4,259,077 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 3,097,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $108.86.

Key Headlines Impacting Roku

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore upgraded ROKU to Outperform and said the stock can rise roughly 31%, highlighting stronger monetization and upside from ad & subscription initiatives. This upgrade and the bullish note likely boosted investor optimism and buying interest. Roku Stock Can Rise Another 31%, Analyst Says Analyst Note on Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Roku is expanding its $3/mo ad-free channel “Howdy” beyond Roku devices, signaling a push to scale subscription revenue and compete cross-platform — a clear monetization lever investors favor. Roku’s $3 streaming service Howdy will be coming to other platforms, CEO says Roku is expanding this paid feature to more devices
• Positive Sentiment: Consensus analyst rating updated to “Moderate Buy,” reinforcing a constructive sell-side view that can support further inflows from institutional and retail investors. Roku Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO remarks covered new strategic bets (including predicting an AI‑generated hit movie within ~3 years) and reiterated product moves; these are forward‑looking but speculative and may matter more for longer-term sentiment than immediate earnings. Roku CEO Talks New $3/Month Ad-Free Streamer, Predicts First ‘100% AI-Generated Hit Movie’
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling was reported in multiple notes and has coincided with intraday weakness in the stock; while insider sales aren’t always a signal of company health, they can trigger short-term selling pressure and amplify volatility. Roku Shares Down on Insider Selling Roku Trading Down Following Insider Selling

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ROKU. Zacks Research lowered shares of Roku from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Roku from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Arete Research set a $132.00 target price on Roku and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Roku in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.12.

Roku Stock Up 2.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -555.82 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $104.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.27.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.09. Roku had a negative return on equity of 1.08% and a negative net margin of 0.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Roku, Inc. will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Roku

In related news, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.04, for a total value of $79,490.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,825 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,158. This represents a 11.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Dan Jedda sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.44, for a total transaction of $322,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,698,286.48. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 318,282 shares of company stock valued at $34,335,889. 13.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Roku

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Roku by 275.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,586,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,897,407 shares in the last quarter. Tableaux LLC acquired a new position in Roku in the second quarter worth approximately $1,746,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Roku by 352.3% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,650,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,259,000 after buying an additional 1,285,585 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Roku by 41.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,691,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,545,000 after buying an additional 785,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Roku by 123.0% during the 2nd quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,100,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,723,000 after acquiring an additional 606,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

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.