Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Invests $220,000 in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Financial Services LLC acquired 236 shares of Netflix, valued at approximately $220,000, as part of a new position in the company during the first quarter.
• Insider activity includes CFO Spencer Adam Neumann selling 685 shares for about $795,428, reducing his ownership by 15.65%.
• Analysts are optimistic about Netflix, with a consensus price target of $1,297.66 and numerous analysts issuing "buy" ratings.

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 236 shares of the Internet television network's stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Netflix by 1.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,997,260 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $35,433,585,000 after purchasing an additional 509,255 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $8,239,576,000 after buying an additional 8,827,662 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Netflix by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,006 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $4,076,903,000 after buying an additional 570,674 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Netflix by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,393,064 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,164,134,000 after buying an additional 1,236,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Netflix by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,811,760 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $2,622,051,000 after buying an additional 143,368 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, Director Bradford L. Smith sold 3,919 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,124.26, for a total value of $4,405,974.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,959,227.94. The trade was a 32.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Reed Hastings sold 26,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,211.66, for a total transaction of $32,633,638.78. Following the sale, the director owned 394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $477,394.04. This trade represents a 98.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 150,226 shares of company stock worth $183,849,784. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFLX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,500.00 price objective (up previously from $1,400.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price (up previously from $1,000.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,250.00 target price (up from $1,020.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Netflix from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Netflix presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,297.66.

Netflix Trading Up 2.6%

Netflix stock traded up $31.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,211.64. The company had a trading volume of 3,811,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,961,090. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,232.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,091.12. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $622.99 and a 1-year high of $1,341.15. The stock has a market cap of $514.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.59.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The Internet television network reported $7.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.07 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $11.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.04 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 24.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.88 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS 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.