Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading 1.9% Higher – Still a Buy?

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock price shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $865.00 and last traded at $858.10. 3,563,913 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 55% from the average session volume of 2,297,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $842.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NFLX. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Netflix from $1,065.00 to $1,040.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Netflix from $725.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Netflix from $760.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Netflix from $825.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Netflix from $950.00 to $925.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.06.

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $885.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $760.81. The company has a market cap of $371.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.22, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.27.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The Internet television network reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.20 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $10.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10,141,900 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 35.86% and a net margin of 20.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.67, for a total transaction of $204,433.89. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,202,828.70. This represents a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard N. Barton sold 5,698 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $756.00, for a total transaction of $4,307,688.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,976. The trade was a 95.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 152,198 shares of company stock worth $127,616,898. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Netflix by 116,620.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,753,129 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $4,080,522,000 after buying an additional 5,748,200 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 154.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,058,431 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $750,713,000 after purchasing an additional 642,920 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 2.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,951,347 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $12,023,082,000 after purchasing an additional 426,740 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Netflix by 4.7% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,990,874 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $4,958,417,000 after purchasing an additional 316,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Netflix during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,871,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.