Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Down 3% – Should You Sell?

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock price was down 3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $949.40 and last traded at $947.58. Approximately 1,012,581 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 3,483,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $976.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on Netflix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Pivotal Research raised their target price on shares of Netflix from $1,100.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Netflix from $650.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Netflix from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Netflix from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $715.00 to $900.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Netflix currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.02.

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $398.96 billion, a PE ratio of 47.03, a PEG 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’s 50-day moving average is $970.22 and its 200 day moving average is $864.96.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Netflix had a return on equity of 38.32% and a net margin of 22.34%. The firm had revenue of $10.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 35,868 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.08, for a total transaction of $31,853,653.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,241.12. The trade was a 99.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.75, for a total value of $473,640.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 288,583 shares of company stock valued at $279,611,567 in the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Netflix by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,488,005 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $33,413,809,000 after purchasing an additional 171,712 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,887,090 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $18,617,081,000 after buying an additional 375,234 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Netflix by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,951,347 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $12,023,082,000 after acquiring an additional 426,740 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Netflix by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,323,952 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $8,287,823,000 after acquiring an additional 175,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Netflix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,019,087,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.