Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Price

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the Internet television network’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 23.33% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on NFLX. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,150.00 to $1,140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Benchmark raised Netflix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Macquarie raised their price target on Netflix from $965.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Netflix from $875.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,039.91.

Netflix Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ NFLX opened at $973.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $416.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $954.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $894.38. Netflix has a 1 year low of $542.01 and a 1 year high of $1,064.50.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The Internet television network reported $6.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.74 by $0.87. Netflix had a return on equity of 38.32% and a net margin of 22.34%. The company had revenue of $10.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Netflix will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 25,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $921.15, for a total value of $23,360,364.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 394 shares in the company, valued at $362,933.10. This represents a 98.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $921.72, for a total transaction of $2,397,393.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,068.52. This represents a 41.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 274,312 shares of company stock worth $267,919,297. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. S. R. Schill & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Netflix in the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Wolf Group Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Netflix in the 1st quarter valued at $336,000. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Netflix by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $2,740,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Netflix by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 305 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Netflix by 6.9% during the first quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 277 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.