Insider Selling: Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Major Shareholder Sells $805,714.00 in Stock

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 13,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.58, for a total value of $805,714.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,611,422.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Root Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ROOT opened at $62.48 on Thursday. Root, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.29 and a 1-year high of $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $912.21 million, a P/E ratio of -8.04 and a beta of 2.72.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.51) by $2.09. Root had a negative net margin of 17.61% and a negative return on equity of 62.36%. The firm had revenue of $254.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($2.88) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 263.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -6.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Root by 218,250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 4,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 4,365 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Root by 229,380.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 11,469 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Root in the third quarter worth about $120,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Root during the 3rd quarter valued at about $158,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, March 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Root in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Root from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Root from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $9.00 to $13.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Root has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.75.

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.