Roku Insiders Get First Chance to Sell Since IPO as Shares Soar

(Bloomberg) -- As Roku Inc. shares rally, keep an eye on the calendar: Tuesday presents the first chance for directors, executive officers and some other large holders to sell their stakes in the video-streaming pioneer.

Six months after going public, Roku is trading at more than double its listing price, adding to those gains with a 7.9 percent advance on Monday. It’s the best-performing initial public offering to raise at least $250 million over the past year, according to Bloomberg data.

But a risk looms this week. The lockup expiration may create a short-term technical challenge for the stock, Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein cautioned in a March 20 note. And selling activity has been picking up. Shares are down 32 percent since Feb. 21, when Roku’s first-quarter revenue forecast missed analyst estimates.

Still, it’s not all bad news. Roku bulls see upside in the growing popularity of streamed content and the shares trade at a steep discount to Netflix Inc., Needham analyst Laura Martin wrote in a note Monday.

Also on Tuesday, Roku Chief Financial Officer Steve Louden will be discussing the competitive landscape and drivers of the business, among other topics, in a conference call with Aliya Capital.

--With assistance from Gregory Calderone

To contact the reporter on this story: Drew Singer in New York at dsinger28@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arie Shapira at ashapira3@bloomberg.net, Sarah McDonald, Steven Fromm

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