Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading 2.7% Higher – Should You Buy?

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock price rose 2.7% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $917.20 and last traded at $914.38. Approximately 1,569,880 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 3,406,933 shares. The stock had previously closed at $890.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NFLX. Barclays raised shares of Netflix from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $715.00 to $900.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Benchmark raised shares of Netflix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $650.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,014.26.

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $392.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.29, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $951.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $848.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The Internet television network reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.20 by $0.07. Netflix had a net margin of 22.34% and a return on equity of 38.32%. The company had revenue of $10.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ann Mather sold 2,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $973.00, for a total value of $2,609,586.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 30,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.92, for a total transaction of $29,933,831.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 394 shares in the company, valued at $386,876.48. This represents a 98.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 288,103 shares of company stock valued at $279,142,041. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NFLX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Netflix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,019,087,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Netflix by 123,836.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,925,977 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $1,716,662,000 after buying an additional 1,924,423 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Netflix by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,301,098 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,051,016,000 after buying an additional 856,307 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Netflix by 318.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 976,924 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $870,752,000 after buying an additional 743,724 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Netflix by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,006 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $4,076,903,000 after buying an additional 570,674 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.