Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on NFLX. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $780.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Netflix from $775.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Netflix from $825.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $545.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $758.00 to $797.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $807.70.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NFLX opened at $909.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $832.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $728.47. Netflix has a fifty-two week low of $461.86 and a fifty-two week high of $941.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.09 by $0.31. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. The business had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Netflix will post 19.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 48,363 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.60, for a total transaction of $43,362,265.80. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,212.40. The trade was a 99.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 4,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $725.00, for a total value of $3,184,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,490,250. The trade was a 25.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 164,977 shares of company stock worth $129,317,467. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Denver PWM LLC acquired a new stake in Netflix during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Netflix during the third quarter worth $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 700.0% during the third quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 48 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Netflix in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Netflix in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.