Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the Internet television network’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Benchmark raised Netflix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,200.00 price objective (up from $1,175.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Netflix in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,150.00 price target (up previously from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Netflix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,070.65.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $1,040.34 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $954.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $897.26. Netflix has a twelve month low of $544.25 and a twelve month high of $1,064.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $445.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The Internet television network reported $6.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.74 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $10.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.51 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 22.34% and a return on equity of 38.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.28 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Netflix will post 24.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 25,360 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $921.15, for a total transaction of $23,360,364.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,933.10. This trade represents a 98.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jay C. Hoag sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $979.71, for a total transaction of $604,481.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 274,472 shares of company stock worth $268,079,297 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Netflix by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Netflix by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC increased its stake in shares of Netflix by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 462 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,826 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $3,410,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.