Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) Trading Down 8.7% Following Insider Selling

Root, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROOT) dropped 8.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $73.47 and last traded at $74.20. Approximately 342,556 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 549,470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.30.

Specifically, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 118,107 shares of Root stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.71, for a total transaction of $9,768,629.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Meyer Malka sold 75,839 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 43,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,500,719.47. This trade represents a 63.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Root Stock Up 4.3 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -61.42 and a beta of 2.34.

Root (NASDAQ:ROOT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by $1.96. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($3.16) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Root, Inc. will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Root during the first quarter worth $1,997,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Root during the first quarter worth about $431,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Root during the second quarter worth about $9,154,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Root in the second quarter valued at about $1,280,000. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Root in the second quarter worth about $9,547,000. Institutional investors own 59.82% of the company’s stock.

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.