Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Price Up 1.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s share price rose 1.7% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $825.00 to $1,040.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Netflix traded as high as $912.62 and last traded at $905.04. Approximately 829,008 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 3,600,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $889.55.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on NFLX. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Netflix from $760.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $795.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, October 18th. Pivotal Research upped their price objective on Netflix from $925.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Netflix from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $807.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 45,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.16, for a total transaction of $31,981,986.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 85 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,023.60. This trade represents a 99.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.67, for a total value of $204,433.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,202,828.70. The trade was a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 164,977 shares of company stock worth $129,317,467. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NFLX. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. SMART Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Netflix in the 3rd quarter worth about $414,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in Netflix by 20.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 291,259 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $206,581,000 after purchasing an additional 48,538 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Netflix by 5.2% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,931 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Netflix in the third quarter valued at approximately $21,594,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.58 billion, a PE ratio of 51.45, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $832.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $728.47.

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

About Netflix

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.