Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $780.00 to $820.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Netflix traded as high as $726.53 and last traded at $725.57, with a volume of 57833 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $721.76.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Netflix from $655.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Netflix from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Netflix in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $680.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $697.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David A. Hyman sold 20,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 31,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,128,159.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider David A. Hyman sold 20,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.13, for a total transaction of $12,499,565.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,128,159.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.44, for a total value of $785,254.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,043,019.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 224,784 shares of company stock worth $150,212,870. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NFLX. DigitalBridge Group Inc. boosted its position in Netflix by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 36,063 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $24,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,451 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Netflix during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,682,000. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd increased its stake in Netflix by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd now owns 250,000 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $155,185,000 after buying an additional 49,000 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Netflix by 58.2% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 82,931 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $55,968,000 after buying an additional 30,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Netflix in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,513,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $314.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $682.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $649.96.

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