Julie Szudarek Sells 2,000 Shares of Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Stock

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) Director Julie Szudarek sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total transaction of $192,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,445,238.99. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Root Price Performance

Shares of ROOT stock traded up $3.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $104.77. 866,618 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,697. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -88.11 and a beta of 2.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.00. Root, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.22 and a fifty-two week high of $118.15.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $1.96. The firm had revenue of $305.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.77 million. Root had a negative return on equity of 9.81% and a negative net margin of 1.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 165.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($3.16) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ROOT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Root from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Root from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Root from $64.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Root in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Root to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Root

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Root during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Root by 129.1% during 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 during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Root during the second quarter worth $288,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Root during the third quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Root by 76.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.