Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading 1.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shot up 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $987.50 and last traded at $984.23. 1,038,529 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 3,481,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $970.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFLX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Macquarie increased their target price on Netflix from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $940.00 to $1,150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Netflix from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $680.00 to $1,494.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $1,100.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of Netflix from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.02.

Netflix Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $419.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $967.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $864.18.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The Internet television network reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.20 by $0.07. Netflix had a return on equity of 38.32% and a net margin of 22.34%. The business had revenue of $10.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 35,868 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.08, for a total value of $31,853,653.44. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,241.12. This trade represents a 99.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $978.18, for a total transaction of $469,526.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 288,583 shares of company stock worth $279,611,567 in the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Netflix by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 848,150 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $760,918,000 after purchasing an additional 156,958 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co lifted its position in Netflix by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 1,258 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC purchased a new stake in Netflix in the fourth quarter worth approximately $733,000. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in Netflix by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,572 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 4.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 41,946 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $29,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. 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.