The streaming name's fourth-quarter results beat on both the top and bottom line
The shares of Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) are up 5.7% in electronic trading, after the streaming device service reported fourth-quarter earnings of 5 cents per share on $275.7 million in revenue -- more than analysts were expecting. What's more, Roku added 3.3 million users over the three-month period, while user streaming hours surged 69% year-over-year to 7.3 billion hours.
Analyst reaction has been mixed. While Wedbush downgraded ROKU stock to "neutral" from "outperform" and cut its price target to $55 from $65, D.A. Davidson raised its target price to $60 from $49. Loop Capital, meanwhile, boosted its Roku price target by $5 to $45, but reiterated its "hold" rating, citing "substantial potential competition." Overall, the majority of brokerages covering the stock continue to maintain a "buy" or better rating, with the average 12-month price target perched all the way up at $59.07.
In the options pits, speculators have been more pessimistic than usual over the last two weeks. Roku's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.73 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the 79th annual percentile, meaning puts have been bought to open relative to calls at an accelerated clip.
Given ROKU's impressive rally off its late-December lows near $26, some of this recent put buying could be at the hands of shareholders initiating an options hedge. In fact, the shares were boasting a year-to-date lead of 68% through last night's close at $51.48. And while this morning's premarket move is lower than the options market anticipated, it's large enough to swing the stock into positive territory for the week -- which would mark a record ninth straight weekly win for ROKU.