WealthShield Partners LLC Buys 756 Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners LLC increased its stake in Netflix, Inc. by 15.5% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 756 shares, bringing its total holdings to 5,648 shares valued at approximately $5.27 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Netflix, with institutional investors now owning 80.93% of the company's stock.
• Analyst ratings for Netflix show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with varied price targets ranging from $1,200 to $1,500 since several brokerages have upgraded their ratings recently.

WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,648 shares of the Internet television network's stock after buying an additional 756 shares during the quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC's holdings in Netflix were worth $5,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1.4% during 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 buying an additional 509,255 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Netflix by 109,524.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,835,722 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $8,239,576,000 after acquiring an additional 8,827,662 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased 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 worth $4,076,903,000 after buying an additional 570,674 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,164,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Netflix by 42.0% in 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 during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on NFLX shares. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Netflix in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Netflix from $1,200.00 to $1,390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Netflix in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cfra Research raised shares of Netflix to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Netflix from $1,300.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,297.66.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Reed Hastings sold 26,933 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay C. Hoag sold 31,750 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,252.35, for a total value of $39,762,112.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 63,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,948,144. This represents a 33.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 151,584 shares of company stock valued at $185,411,484 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Netflix Stock Up 0.2%

NFLX stock traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $1,180.37. 2,625,184 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,041,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $616.02 and a 1-year high of $1,341.15. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,232.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,091.12. The firm has a market cap of $501.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.59.

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