Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 601 Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. sold 601 shares of Netflix, Inc., reducing its holdings by 28.2% to 1,530 shares, valued at approximately $1.43 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Netflix, with Moffett Nathanson and Jefferies Financial Group both projecting targets of $1,150 and $1,500 respectively, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Insider trading activity included sales of a total of 123,830 shares by directors in the last three months, prompting concerns about insider sentiment amid Netflix's fluctuating stock prices.

Empire Life Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,530 shares of the Internet television network's stock after selling 601 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Netflix were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Netflix by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,887,090 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $18,617,081,000 after buying an additional 375,234 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Netflix by 109,524.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,835,722 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $8,239,576,000 after purchasing an additional 8,827,662 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Netflix by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,006 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $4,076,903,000 after purchasing an additional 570,674 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Netflix by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,308,201 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $3,839,986,000 after purchasing an additional 119,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Netflix by 42.0% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,387,159 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,293,567,000 after purchasing an additional 410,235 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NFLX shares. Moffett Nathanson restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,150.00 price objective (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,500.00 price objective (up from $1,400.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,200.00 to $1,390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $1,500.00 price objective on shares of Netflix and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Netflix from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,297.66.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other news, Director Jay C. Hoag sold 31,750 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,252.35, for a total transaction of $39,762,112.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 63,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,948,144. The trade was a 33.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Strive Masiyiwa sold 290 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,336.54, for a total transaction of $387,596.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 123,830 shares of company stock worth $153,102,930 in the last three months. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Netflix Stock Down 0.1%

Netflix stock opened at $1,158.60 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,234.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,085.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $587.04 and a 1-year high of $1,341.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.59.

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

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.

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