Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The Internet television network reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.77, Briefing.com reports. Netflix had a net margin of 18.42% and a return on equity of 29.46%. The company had revenue of $9.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. Netflix’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NFLX opened at $555.04 on Friday. Netflix has a 1 year low of $315.62 and a 1 year high of $639.00. The company has a market cap of $240.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $605.65 and a 200-day moving average of $513.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David A. Hyman sold 47,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.92, for a total transaction of $25,591,006.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,003,651.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David A. Hyman sold 47,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.92, for a total transaction of $25,591,006.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,003,651.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ann Mather sold 3,673 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $2,203,800.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 268,335 shares of company stock valued at $151,619,811. 2.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NFLX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Netflix during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,501,762,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 117,939.1% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,742,048 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $808,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,739,725 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 202.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,790,092 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $788,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198,774 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 113.1% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,869,385 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $823,446,000 after purchasing an additional 992,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,382,145 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $1,646,699,000 after purchasing an additional 862,463 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $585.00 price objective (down previously from $720.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $490.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Netflix from $640.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $630.58.

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.