Longbow Finance SA Sells 1,952 Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA reduced its stake in Netflix by 10.7%, holding 16,312 shares worth approximately $15.21 million, making it 1.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Netflix, with a reported 80.93% of the stock owned by institutions overall.
• Netflix's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $7.19, exceeding analysts' expectations, and revenue increased by 15.9% year-over-year.

Longbow Finance SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,312 shares of the Internet television network's stock after selling 1,952 shares during the quarter. Netflix accounts for about 1.8% of Longbow Finance SA's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Longbow Finance SA's holdings in Netflix were worth $15,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 26 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on NFLX shares. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,500.00 to $1,560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,425.00 price objective (up previously from $1,200.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,500.00 price objective (up previously from $1,400.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,297.66.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of Netflix stock traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $1,180.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,624,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,928,007. Netflix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $587.04 and a 1 year high of $1,341.15. The company has a market cap of $501.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,236.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,071.39.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The Internet television network reported $7.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reed Hastings sold 9,673 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,329.11, for a total value of $12,856,481.03. Following the sale, the director directly owned 394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $523,669.34. This trade represents a 96.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,286.84, for a total transaction of $797,840.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,923 shares of company stock valued at $222,445,095 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

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.