Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Price Up 1.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s stock price shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $825.00 to $1,000.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Netflix traded as high as $847.90 and last traded at $842.10. 840,781 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,819,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $828.40.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on NFLX. Barclays increased their target price on Netflix from $550.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Netflix from $635.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Netflix from $825.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Macquarie increased their target price on Netflix from $795.00 to $965.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Pivotal Research increased their target price on Netflix from $925.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $845.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In other news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 4,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.00, for a total value of $3,139,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,090 shares in the company, valued at $9,817,500. This trade represents a 24.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Leslie J. Kilgore sold 358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $765.00, for a total value of $273,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,975,430. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,742 shares of company stock worth $131,030,268. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Netflix in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 700.0% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 48 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Netflix during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Netflix during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Netflix during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Netflix Stock Up 2.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $362.60 billion, a PE ratio of 48.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $881.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $755.96.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.09 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 35.86% and a net margin of 20.70%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.