Roku, Inc. $ROKU Shares Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its position in Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) by 44.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,310 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Roku were worth $2,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ROKU. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Roku by 44.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 281 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Roku by 208.7% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Roku in the second quarter worth about $47,000. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Roku by 96.8% in the first quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 561 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Roku by 255.8% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 86.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Roku News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large Q3 earnings and revenue beats: Roku reported approximately $1.20 in adjusted EPS, more than double the $0.55 analyst consensus, while revenue reached $1.50 billion versus expectations of $1.41 billion. Revenue increased 24.1% year over year, and earnings rose sharply from $0.16 a year earlier. Roku quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising performance supported profitability: Advertising revenue grew 23%, with improved gross margins allowing Roku to retain more profit from each advertising dollar. Lower marketing expenses also contributed to a roughly sevenfold increase in net income, reported at about $183 million. Roku advertising and profit growth article
• Positive Sentiment: Fox acquisition is progressing: Fox has reportedly received all required foreign regulatory approvals for its approximately $22 billion acquisition of Roku, narrowing the deal spread and reducing a key execution risk. Roku Fox acquisition regulatory approval article
• Neutral Sentiment: Limited forward guidance: Because of the pending Fox transaction, Roku will not host an earnings call or provide financial outlook. This makes near-term valuation and expectations more dependent on reported results and merger developments. Roku third-quarter financial results
• Negative Sentiment: Higher costs are expected: Roku indicated that marketing expenses should increase in the fourth quarter, potentially limiting the pace of margin expansion after the strong Q3 performance. The company is also removing a popular feature, which could create some customer dissatisfaction, although the financial effect appears limited. Roku feature removal article

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Matthew C. Banks sold 554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.21, for a total transaction of $84,324.34. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,925.28. This represents a 6.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Gilbert Fuchsberg sold 4,824 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $750,807.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,251,747.52. This represents a 10.72% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 96,195 shares of company stock worth $14,854,525 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Roku Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ROKU opened at $155.52 on Tuesday. Roku, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.53 and a twelve month high of $160.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.79. The stock has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.66 and a beta of 2.05.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. Roku had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The company’s revenue was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Roku, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ROKU. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Roku from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Roku in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Roku from $120.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Roku in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut Roku from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eighteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.17.

About Roku

Roku, Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) operates a television streaming platform that connects consumers with digital entertainment. The company develops and licenses Roku OS, an operating system for smart televisions and streaming devices, and offers Roku-branded streaming players, Roku TVs, audio products and related accessories.

Roku also operates a platform business that distributes streaming content through its interface and supports content discovery, subscriptions and digital advertising. Its services include The Roku Channel, which provides a selection of ad-supported and premium entertainment, as well as tools that enable content providers and advertisers to reach streaming audiences.

Founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, Roku initially became known for its streaming players and later expanded through partnerships with television manufacturers.