Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Major Shareholder Sells $9,768,629.97 in Stock

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 118,107 shares of Root stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.71, for a total value of $9,768,629.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Meyer Malka also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, November 7th, Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of Root stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $6,158,885.19.
• On Thursday, October 31st, Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of Root stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total transaction of $4,320,304.02.

Root Stock Performance

Shares of ROOT stock opened at $78.81 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -64.07 and a beta of 2.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.50. Root, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.22 and a 52 week high of $118.15.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $1.96. The business had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.77 million. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($3.16) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Root

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Root by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Root by 15.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Root by 76.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Root by 129.1% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 5,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at about $288,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ROOT shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.13.

About Root

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.