Roku Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ROKU)

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 26,249 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 85% compared to the average daily volume of 14,196 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Roku news, insider Charles Collier sold 20,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.94, for a total value of $2,565,892.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,200 shares in the company, valued at $1,899,088. The trade was a 57.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Mustafa Ozgen sold 10,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total transaction of $1,467,936.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,762,640. The trade was a 34.70% 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 a total of 706,194 shares of company stock worth $80,756,499 in the last three months. 13.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Roku by 6.5% during the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Roku by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Roku by 1.0% during the third quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Roku by 2.6% during the first quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Roku by 3.7% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Roku News

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fox agreed to buy Roku for about $22 billion, paying $160 per share in cash and stock. The deal gives Roku shareholders a major takeover premium and explains the stock’s surge. Reuters: Fox to buy Roku in $22 billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say the acquisition could create a larger streaming and TV-viewership platform by combining Fox’s content with Roku’s connected-TV operating system and ad network, which supports the strategic case for the deal. CNBC: Fox to buy streaming device maker Roku for $22 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary note that the takeover premium may be viewed as modest by some shareholders, which could limit additional upside unless a competing bidder emerges or deal terms change. Barron’s: Roku Stock Rises. Why $22 Billion Fox Sale May Disappoint.
• Negative Sentiment: Law firms have launched shareholder investigations into whether Roku obtained a fair price in the transaction, creating potential legal overhang and deal uncertainty. PR Newswire: Ademi LLP investigation
• Negative Sentiment: Another shareholder alert from Monteverde & Associates is also probing the sale to Fox, reinforcing concerns that investors may challenge the merger terms. PR Newswire: Monteverde & Associates investigation

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ROKU. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Roku from $137.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Roku from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (up from $140.00) on shares of Roku in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Oppenheimer cut shares of Roku from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Roku presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.25.

Roku Stock Down 1.6%

ROKU traded down $2.29 on Monday, hitting $141.37. The company had a trading volume of 21,049,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,289,998. The company has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 106.32 and a beta of 2.06. Roku has a 12-month low of $77.64 and a 12-month high of $148.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.32.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Roku had a return on equity of 7.64% and a net margin of 4.06%.The firm’s revenue was up 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.19) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Roku will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Roku

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.