Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock Price Up 7.9%

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT)’s stock price shot up 7.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.97 and last traded at $50.60. 90,050 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 573,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ROOT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Root from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Root from $15.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Root from $11.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Root has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.89.

Root Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.63. The stock has a market cap of $768.99 million, a P/E ratio of -6.64 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $203.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($2.88) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 263.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Root

In other news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 13,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.58, for a total transaction of $805,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,611,422.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 13,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.58, for a total transaction of $805,714.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,611,422.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Beth A. Birnbaum sold 1,735 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.67, for a total transaction of $75,767.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $699,287.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Root during the first quarter valued at about $1,997,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new position in shares of Root during the first quarter valued at about $434,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Root during the first quarter valued at about $431,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Root during the first quarter valued at about $1,171,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Root during the first quarter valued at about $293,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Root Company Profile

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.