Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Roblox Co. (NYSE:RBLX)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $60.43, but opened at $62.40. Roblox shares last traded at $63.52, with a volume of 1,748,359 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RBLX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Roblox from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Roblox from $54.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Roblox in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Roblox in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lowered Roblox from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Roblox currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.19.

Roblox Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.82, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.82 and a beta of 1.46.

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.13. Roblox had a negative net margin of 25.97% and a negative return on equity of 665.98%. As a group, analysts expect that Roblox Co. will post -1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Roblox

In other Roblox news, CEO David Baszucki sold 333,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.31, for a total transaction of $19,103,371.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,295 shares in the company, valued at $7,409,896.45. This represents a 72.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Anthony P. Lee sold 250,000 shares of Roblox stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.04, for a total value of $16,260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,254,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,769,070.48. The trade was a 3.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,160,553 shares of company stock valued at $71,809,407. 22.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Roblox

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Roblox by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 32,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Roblox by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Roblox by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Roblox by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Roblox by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 94.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Roblox

Roblox Corporation develops and operates an online entertainment platform in the United States and internationally. It offers Roblox Studio, a free toolset that allows developers and creators to build, publish, and operate 3D experiences, and other content; Roblox Client, an application that allows users to explore 3D experience; and Roblox Cloud, which provides services and infrastructure that power the platform.