Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $72.77, but opened at $71.30. Root shares last traded at $74.59, with a volume of 62,317 shares trading hands.
ROOT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Root to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Root from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Root presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Root
The stock has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.62 and a beta of 2.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39.
Root (NASDAQ:ROOT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $1.96. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $305.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.77 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($3.16) earnings per share. Root's revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.
In related news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total value of $4,320,304.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,647.56. This trade represents a 99.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 246,905 shares of company stock worth $20,440,479. Corporate insiders own 11.71% of the company's stock.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ROOT. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Root by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,683,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Root by 5.5% during the second quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Root in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Root by 15.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the company's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Root by 76.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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