Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading 2.8% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock price shot up 2.8% on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $850.00 to $1,010.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Netflix traded as high as $940.01 and last traded at $939.05. 998,812 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 3,622,117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $913.35.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NFLX. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Netflix from $635.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Netflix from $760.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Netflix from $725.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Netflix from $810.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twenty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.85.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 48,363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,212.40. This represents a 99.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy M. Haley sold 11,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.96, for a total value of $8,405,776.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 209,155 shares of company stock valued at $159,682,799. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Netflix by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,951,347 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $12,023,082,000 after acquiring an additional 426,740 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,148,356 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $6,464,736,000 after purchasing an additional 123,029 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Netflix by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,990,874 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $4,958,417,000 after purchasing an additional 316,594 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Netflix by 116,620.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,753,129 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $4,080,522,000 after buying an additional 5,748,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Netflix by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,897,389 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $3,473,571,000 after buying an additional 23,702 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $399.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.14, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.27. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $801.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $714.44.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. Analysts predict 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.