Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading Up 2.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shot up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $935.85 and last traded at $932.12. 2,320,293 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 3,602,471 shares. The stock had previously closed at $911.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Netflix from $625.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $950.00 price objective (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Netflix from $758.00 to $797.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Netflix from $590.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Netflix from $825.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $807.70.

Netflix Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $841.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $733.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $398.44 billion, a PE ratio of 52.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,202,828.70. This represents a 0.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 48,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.60, for a total transaction of $43,362,265.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,212.40. The trade was a 99.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 160,183 shares of company stock valued at $125,841,817. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its position in Netflix by 35.5% during the second quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 36,063 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $24,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,451 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Netflix by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,579,404 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $1,829,494,000 after buying an additional 29,726 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 612,458 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $434,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11,921 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Netflix in the third quarter worth $1,517,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,684 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.