Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Price Up 3.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shot up 3.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $961.30 and last traded at $958.62. 2,098,780 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 3,430,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $929.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Netflix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,016.78.

Netflix Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $408.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.19, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $956.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $854.74.

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

Insider Activity at Netflix

In related news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $982.05, for a total transaction of $2,554,312.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,691 shares in the company, valued at $3,624,746.55. This trade represents a 41.34 % 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, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 35,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.08, for a total transaction of $31,853,653.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,241.12. This represents a 99.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 288,103 shares of company stock valued at $279,142,041 over the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in Netflix by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 465,208 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $329,958,000 after purchasing an additional 8,024 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 13.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,692,563 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,200,485,000 after buying an additional 198,148 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Netflix by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 778 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in Netflix in the 3rd quarter valued at $378,000. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in Netflix by 7.4% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 23,570 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $16,717,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.