Roblox (NYSE:RBLX) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Shares of Roblox Co. (NYSE:RBLX - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $61.30, but opened at $62.83. Roblox shares last traded at $63.02, with a volume of 1,841,592 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RBLX. HSBC initiated 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded Roblox from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Roblox from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Roblox from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $49.00 price target on shares of Roblox in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Roblox has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.67.

Roblox Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a PE ratio of -37.82 and a beta of 1.43.

Roblox (NYSE:RBLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $919.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Roblox had a negative net margin of 30.90% and a negative return on equity of 986.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.45) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Roblox Co. will post -1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Roblox

In related news, insider Mark Reinstra sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.75, for a total value of $1,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 278,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,620,119.75. This represents a 7.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Baszucki sold 333,334 shares of Roblox stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.31, for a total transaction of $19,103,371.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 129,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,409,896.45. This trade represents a 72.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,254,601 shares of company stock valued at $65,622,735. Insiders own 22.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Roblox by 1.8% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 97,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,645,000 after buying an additional 1,701 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Roblox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Roblox by 219.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 90,396 shares of the company's stock worth $3,360,000 after purchasing an additional 62,125 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Roblox by 2.7% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 27,850 shares of the company's stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Roblox during the second quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors own 94.46% of the company's stock.

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.