Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $848.70 and last traded at $847.70, with a volume of 310583 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $847.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NFLX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Netflix from $590.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Netflix from $820.00 to $835.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $625.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Netflix from $820.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $758.76.

Netflix Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $747.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $686.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25. 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 (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.09 by $0.31. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. The business had revenue of $9.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 45,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $706.16, for a total transaction of $31,981,986.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 85 shares in the company, valued at $60,023.60. This trade represents a 99.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy M. Haley sold 11,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.96, for a total value of $8,405,776.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,866 shares of company stock valued at $133,393,921. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DigitalBridge Group Inc. boosted its position in Netflix by 35.5% during the second quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 36,063 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $24,338,000 after buying an additional 9,451 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Netflix by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 612,458 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $434,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11,921 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Netflix by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Netflix by 58.2% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 82,931 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $55,968,000 after purchasing an additional 30,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 7.7% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 121,400 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $86,105,000 after purchasing an additional 8,700 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.