Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Upgraded to Hold at Phillip Securities

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was upgraded by Phillip Securities from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,150.00 price target (up previously from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Netflix in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,200.00 price objective (up from $1,150.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,150.00 target price (up previously from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,070.65.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $1,040.34 on Monday. Netflix has a 52 week low of $544.25 and a 52 week high of $1,064.97. The company has a market capitalization of $445.01 billion, a PE ratio of 52.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $954.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $897.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ann Mather sold 2,682 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $973.00, for a total transaction of $2,609,586.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.75, for a total transaction of $473,640.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 274,472 shares of company stock valued at $268,079,297. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Netflix by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,488,005 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $33,413,809,000 after acquiring an additional 171,712 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Netflix by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,887,090 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $18,617,081,000 after purchasing an additional 375,234 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Netflix by 1.9% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 175,596 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Netflix by 109,524.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,835,722 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,239,576,000 after buying an additional 8,827,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Netflix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,019,087,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently 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.