Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading 1.4% Higher – Here’s Why

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s share price was up 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $987.50 and last traded at $984.23. Approximately 1,038,529 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 3,481,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $970.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFLX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Netflix from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $975.00 to $1,200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Netflix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Netflix from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Netflix from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $680.00 to $1,494.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Netflix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.02.

Netflix Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $419.86 billion, a PE ratio of 49.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $967.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $864.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $10.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 35,868 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.08, for a total value of $31,853,653.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,241.12. This trade represents a 99.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard N. Barton sold 6,364 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $879.38, for a total transaction of $5,596,374.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 246 shares in the company, valued at $216,327.48. This represents a 96.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 288,583 shares of company stock worth $279,611,567. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Netflix by 13.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,692,563 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,200,485,000 after purchasing an additional 198,148 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Netflix in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,475,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Netflix in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Netflix by 0.4% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 17,788 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $12,616,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 98.5% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. 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.