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

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Benchmark from $555.00 to $720.00 in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “sell” rating on the Internet television network’s stock. Benchmark’s target price points to a potential downside of 18.80% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Netflix from $850.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $840.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Netflix from $775.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Netflix from $760.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $813.00.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $886.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $861.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $743.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Netflix has a 1-year low of $465.77 and a 1-year high of $941.75.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.09 by $0.31. Netflix had a return on equity of 35.86% and a net margin of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Netflix will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In other news, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.67, for a total transaction of $204,433.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,202,828.70. This trade represents a 0.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leslie J. Kilgore sold 383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $730.00, for a total transaction of $279,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,741,260. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 114,893 shares of company stock valued at $93,859,830. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its stake in Netflix by 35.5% in the second quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 36,063 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $24,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,451 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Netflix by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,579,404 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,829,494,000 after purchasing an additional 29,726 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Netflix by 2.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 612,458 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $434,398,000 after buying an additional 11,921 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Netflix by 4.2% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 41,946 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $29,751,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Netflix in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Netflix Company Profile

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.