Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading 1.7% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock price was up 1.7% during trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $825.00 to $1,000.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Netflix traded as high as $847.90 and last traded at $842.10. Approximately 840,781 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,819,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $828.40.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on NFLX. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Netflix from $635.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Netflix from $760.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Pivotal Research raised their price objective on shares of Netflix from $925.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Netflix from $825.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Netflix from $825.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $845.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 35,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.08, for a total value of $31,853,653.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,241.12. This represents a 99.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard N. Barton sold 6,364 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $879.38, for a total value of $5,596,374.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,327.48. This represents a 96.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,742 shares of company stock worth $131,030,268 in the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Netflix by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,133 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,793,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Netflix by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Netflix by 39.5% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,217 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $9,998,000 after buying an additional 3,174 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its position in Netflix by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 38,196 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $34,045,000 after buying an additional 12,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its stake in shares of Netflix by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $362.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $881.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $755.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.09 by $0.31. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Netflix Company Profile

Netflix, Inc provides entertainment services. It offers TV series, documentaries, feature films, and games across various genres and languages. The company also provides members the ability to receive streaming content through a host of internet-connected devices, including TVs, digital video players, TV set-top boxes, and mobile devices.