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

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) had its target price increased by research analysts at Benchmark from $555.00 to $720.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the Internet television network’s stock. Benchmark’s target price suggests a potential downside of 18.80% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Netflix from $820.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Netflix from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $950.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $800.00 to $950.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $813.00.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NFLX stock opened at $886.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $379.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.18, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Netflix has a 52 week low of $465.77 and a 52 week high of $941.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $861.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $743.72.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.09 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 35.86% and a net margin of 20.70%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Netflix will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 48,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.60, for a total transaction of $43,362,265.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,212.40. This trade represents a 99.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 4,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.00, for a total transaction of $3,139,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,817,500. This represents a 24.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 114,893 shares of company stock worth $93,859,830 in the last quarter. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Denver PWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Netflix during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 700.0% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 48 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Netflix during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Netflix in the third quarter worth $38,000. 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.