Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Raised to Hold at Benchmark

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Benchmark from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports.

NFLX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $940.00 to $1,150.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus boosted their target price on Netflix from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Netflix from $1,100.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Netflix from $625.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $996.94.

Netflix Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ NFLX opened at $984.86 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $889.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $763.41. The company has a market capitalization of $420.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.27. Netflix has a 1 year low of $537.07 and a 1 year high of $999.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The Internet television network reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.20 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $10.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10,141,900 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 39.48% and a net margin of 22.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Netflix will post 23.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In other news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 41,601 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $758.06, for a total transaction of $31,536,054.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,435.10. The trade was a 99.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anne M. Sweeney sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $880.00, for a total transaction of $518,320.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,500 shares of company stock valued at $123,309,210 in the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NFLX. Custom Index Systems LLC lifted its stake in Netflix by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix in the fourth quarter valued at $446,000. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 834 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $743,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 17,745 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $15,817,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.