Canaccord Genuity Group Lowers Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) to Hold

Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $585.00 price objective on the Internet television network’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $720.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NFLX. Wedbush increased their price target on Netflix from $615.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Netflix from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Netflix from $585.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Netflix from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Netflix from $500.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $630.58.

Netflix Stock Performance

NFLX stock opened at $555.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.22. Netflix has a 12-month low of $315.62 and a 12-month high of $639.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $605.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $514.99.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The Internet television network reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $9.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.28 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 29.46% and a net margin of 18.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Netflix will post 17.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In related news, insider David A. Hyman sold 47,574 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.92, for a total value 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 approximately $17,003,651.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Netflix news, insider David A. Hyman sold 47,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.92, for a total value of $25,591,006.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,003,651.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 20,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $610.42, for a total transaction of $12,553,897.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 28 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,091.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 268,335 shares of company stock valued at $151,619,811. Insiders own 2.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Netflix in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Netflix during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 290.0% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 78 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 933.3% during the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 62 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 1,550.0% during the fourth quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in 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.