Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading Up 11.8% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares shot up 11.8% on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $999.00 and last traded at $972.34. 7,201,798 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 81% from the average session volume of 3,986,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $869.68.

The Internet television network reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.20 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $10.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10,141,900 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.11 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NFLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $940.00 to $1,150.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark raised shares of Netflix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised Netflix from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $715.00 to $900.00 in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $993.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Anne M. Sweeney sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $880.00, for a total transaction of $518,320.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 48,363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.60, for a total value of $43,362,265.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,212.40. The trade was a 99.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 152,198 shares of company stock worth $127,616,898. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Netflix by 27.1% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 544 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Netflix by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 433 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Clear Point Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Netflix by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Point Advisors Inc. now owns 449 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Netflix by 10.6% in the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,230 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $5,554,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Netflix by 4.7% in the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 465,249 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $313,987,000 after acquiring an additional 20,962 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Netflix Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $886.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $762.07. The stock has a market cap of $407.79 billion, a PE ratio of 53.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 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.

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.