Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Shares Up 6.8% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) rose 6.8% on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $78.00 to $80.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Root traded as high as $88.94 and last traded at $87.39. Approximately 122,304 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 290,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.79.

Several other research analysts have also commented on ROOT. JMP Securities lowered shares of Root from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Root from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of Root stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $192,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,445,238.99. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of Root stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total transaction of $6,158,885.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,500,719.47. This trade represents a 63.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 246,905 shares of company stock worth $20,440,479. 11.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ROOT. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Root in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position 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. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Root during the third quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Root in the second quarter worth approximately $288,000. 59.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Root Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.74 and a beta of 2.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.76.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $1.96. The business had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.77 million. Root had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 9.81%. Root’s revenue for the quarter was up 165.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($3.16) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.