iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Separately, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of iRobot in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

iRobot Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IRBT opened at $7.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. iRobot has a 12 month low of $5.83 and a 12 month high of $42.14. The company has a market cap of $209.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 0.84.

iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported ($1.96) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.77) by ($0.19). iRobot had a negative return on equity of 128.49% and a negative net margin of 25.29%. The company had revenue of $166.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.73) EPS. iRobot’s revenue for the quarter was down 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that iRobot will post -4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iRobot

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ironwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in iRobot in the 2nd quarter valued at $461,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in iRobot by 72.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 3,175 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in iRobot by 185.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 196,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 127,602 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of iRobot by 131.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 79,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 337,057 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of iRobot by 47.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 93,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 30,300 shares in the last quarter. 77.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iRobot Company Profile

iRobot Corporation designs, builds, and sells robots and home innovation products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and internationally. The company offers floor care products, including Roomba floor vacuuming robots; Roomba accessories and consumables, such as the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, replacement dirt disposal bags for the Clean Base, filters, brushes, and batteries; Braava family of automatic floor mopping robots; and Braava accessories and consumables, which include cleaning solution, washable and disposable mopping pads, replacement tanks, and batteries, as well as subscription services.