Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,269 shares of the Internet television network's stock after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Netflix were worth $12,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Warwick Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Netflix by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 298 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its stake in Netflix by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 462 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Netflix by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,826 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,410,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,200.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Moffett Nathanson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,150.00 price target (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Netflix from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Netflix from $1,210.00 to $1,222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,200.00 target price (up previously from $1,150.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,149.91.

Netflix Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Netflix stock traded up $10.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $1,250.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,796,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,745,360. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,075.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $982.47. The firm has a market cap of $532.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Netflix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $587.04 and a 12-month high of $1,262.59.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The Internet television network reported $6.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.74 by $0.87. Netflix had a return on equity of 38.32% and a net margin of 22.34%. The firm had revenue of $10.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $978.18, for a total transaction of $469,526.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,211.67, for a total transaction of $3,151,553.67. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 3,691 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,273.97. This trade represents a 41.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 152,300 shares of company stock valued at $169,146,939 over the last quarter. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.