Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading Up 1% – Still a Buy?

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shot up 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $927.18 and last traded at $903.95. 2,265,139 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 3,382,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $895.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NFLX. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Netflix from $800.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Phillip Securities lowered Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Netflix from $850.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Netflix from $1,040.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Netflix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,014.26.

Netflix Trading Up 2.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $389.10 billion, a PE ratio of 45.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $950.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $846.09.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 30,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.92, for a total value of $29,933,831.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,876.48. This trade represents a 98.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 160 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,000.00, for a total transaction of $160,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 288,103 shares of company stock valued at $279,142,041 in the last three months. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NFLX. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Netflix during the third quarter worth $25,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 82.4% during the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 31 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Netflix during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Netflix during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Netflix during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 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.