StockNews.com Lowers Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Netflix from $710.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Netflix from $650.00 to $659.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Netflix in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. They set an outperform rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush restated an outperform rating and issued a $725.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $682.42.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $692.48 on Thursday. Netflix has a 1 year low of $344.73 and a 1 year high of $711.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $658.77 and its 200 day moving average is $628.84. The stock has a market cap of $298.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.06, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The Internet television network reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.74 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $9.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.53 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 32.93%. The business’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix will post 19.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In other Netflix news, insider David A. Hyman sold 20,656 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.13, for a total transaction of $12,499,565.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,128,159.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Netflix news, insider David A. Hyman sold 20,656 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.13, for a total value of $12,499,565.28. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,128,159.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Leslie J. Kilgore sold 1,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.81, for a total value of $966,999.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 152,700 shares of company stock worth $98,283,982. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NFLX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Netflix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,558,598,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Netflix by 540.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,878,785 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,888,503,000 after buying an additional 3,273,592 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Netflix during the first quarter worth $1,450,476,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Netflix by 17.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,381,464 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $3,875,655,000 after acquiring an additional 929,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix in the first quarter valued at $436,514,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.