Insider Selling: Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Major Shareholder Sells 118,107 Shares of Stock

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 118,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.71, for a total value of $9,768,629.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases 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 shares were sold at an average price of $81.21, for a total value of $6,158,885.19.
• On Thursday, October 31st, Meyer Malka sold 50,959 shares of Root stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.78, for a total value of $4,320,304.02.

Root Stock Performance

ROOT stock traded down $6.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.99. 698,197 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 551,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -60.97 and a beta of 2.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.08. Root, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.22 and a 1 year high of $118.15.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly 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. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The firm had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($3.16) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ROOT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Root in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Root in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Root in the first quarter valued at about $1,171,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Root during the first quarter worth about $1,997,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Root during the first quarter worth about $431,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Root during the second quarter worth about $9,154,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Root in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,280,000. 59.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.