Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Up 7.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shot up 7.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Phillip Securities upgraded the stock from a moderate sell rating to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $1,064.40 and last traded at $1,060.06. 3,876,003 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 3,699,365 shares. The stock had previously closed at $987.91.

Several other brokerages have also commented on NFLX. FBN Securities initiated coverage on Netflix in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,165.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,150.00 target price (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Netflix in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $1,100.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Netflix from $1,100.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Netflix from $1,210.00 to $1,222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,070.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In other news, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.75, for a total transaction of $473,640.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 25,360 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $921.15, for a total value of $23,360,364.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,933.10. The trade was a 98.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 273,855 shares of company stock valued at $267,474,816. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Netflix by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,488,005 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $33,413,809,000 after buying an additional 171,712 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,887,090 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $18,617,081,000 after buying an additional 375,234 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Netflix by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,323,952 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,287,823,000 after purchasing an additional 175,596 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Netflix by 109,524.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,835,722 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $8,239,576,000 after buying an additional 8,827,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Netflix in the fourth quarter worth about $5,019,087,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Netflix Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $953.84 and its 200-day moving average is $898.31. The stock has a market cap of $449.12 billion, a PE ratio of 52.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The Internet television network reported $6.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.74 by $0.87. Netflix had a return on equity of 38.32% and a net margin of 22.34%. The business had revenue of $10.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current year.

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.