Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU)

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 26,249 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 85% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,196 call options.

Roku Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of ROKU opened at $140.90 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.65. The stock has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.94 and a beta of 2.06. Roku has a 52 week low of $77.64 and a 52 week high of $148.88.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ROKU shares. Piper Sandler downgraded Roku from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. William Blair downgraded Roku from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer downgraded Roku from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Wedbush increased their target price on Roku from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Roku from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.96.

Key Headlines Impacting Roku

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of Roku gives shareholders a clear takeover premium and sent the stock sharply higher as traders priced in deal value. Reuters: Fox to buy Roku in $22 billion deal
• Positive Sentiment: The transaction could strengthen Roku’s strategic position by pairing its streaming platform with Fox’s content and advertising ecosystem, supporting the bull case for a larger connected-TV leader. CNBC: Fox to buy streaming device maker Roku for $22 billion
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy options activity and earlier sale-talk reports suggest traders were positioning for a deal before the formal announcement, adding momentum to the stock. Stocktwits: Roku lands $22B buyout offer from Fox
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading in ROKU was briefly halted for “news pending,” reflecting the market’s anticipation of a major announcement rather than a change in fundamentals. Reuters: Fox to buy Roku in $22 billion deal
• Negative Sentiment: Some investor-rights firms have opened investigations into whether the deal gives Roku shareholders a fair price, which could create uncertainty or delay-related headlines. PRNewswire: Shareholder Alert on Roku fair price investigation

Insider Buying and Selling at Roku

In other Roku news, insider Charles Collier sold 205,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $21,611,205.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,168,755. This represents a 94.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total value of $1,467,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,762,640. This represents a 34.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 706,194 shares of company stock valued at $80,756,499. 13.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Roku

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ROKU. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Roku by 18.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of Roku during the first quarter worth about $229,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Roku by 145.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Roku by 231.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 70,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,221,000 after purchasing an additional 49,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Roku during the second quarter worth about $326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

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.