Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Down 6.9% After Analyst Downgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock price dropped 6.9% during trading on Friday after Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. Canaccord Genuity Group now has a $585.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $720.00. Netflix traded as low as $556.61 and last traded at $568.25. Approximately 8,019,133 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 85% from the average daily volume of 4,330,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $610.56.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Netflix from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $585.00 price objective (down previously from $720.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Netflix from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Netflix from $555.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $570.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Netflix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $628.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.01, for a total transaction of $148,454.67. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,575,476.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 20,566 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 28 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,091.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.01, for a total transaction of $148,454.67. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,575,476.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 268,335 shares of company stock valued at $151,619,811. Corporate insiders own 2.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,438,570 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $17,741,211,000 after acquiring an additional 178,286 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Netflix by 0.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,195,490 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $5,595,196,000 after purchasing an additional 62,507 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Netflix by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,744,636 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $5,718,265,000 after purchasing an additional 78,320 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Netflix by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,463,661 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,906,005,000 after purchasing an additional 644,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Netflix by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,452,271 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,654,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Stock Down 8.1 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $605.77 and its 200 day moving average is $511.86. The company has a market capitalization of $242.80 billion, a PE ratio of 46.87, a PEG ratio of 1.65 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.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The Internet television network reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $9.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.28 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 24.76% and a net margin of 16.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 17.05 EPS for the current fiscal 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.