Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Down 7.3% – Time to Sell?

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s share price dropped 7.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $80.56 and last traded at $79.11. Approximately 57,770 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 338,076 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROOT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Root from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities downgraded shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Root Stock Down 5.2 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -65.77 and a beta of 2.55.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. The business had revenue of $305.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. The company’s revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($3.16) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,445,238.99. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of Root stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $4,320,304.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,647.56. This trade represents a 99.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 246,905 shares of company stock worth $20,440,479 over the last quarter. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Root

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Root during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Root by 129.1% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Root during the third quarter valued at $216,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in Root in the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Root in the 3rd quarter worth $249,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Root Company Profile

Root, Inc provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers automobile, homeowners, and renters insurance products. It operates a direct-to-consumer model; and serves customers primarily through mobile applications, as well as through its website. The company's direct distribution channels also cover digital, media, and referral channels, as well as distribution partners and agencies.