Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on NFLX. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Netflix from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Netflix in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Netflix from $1,514.00 to $1,515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,425.00 price target (up from $1,200.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Netflix from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,297.66.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of NFLX opened at $1,180.49 on Friday. Netflix has a 1 year low of $587.04 and a 1 year high of $1,341.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $501.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,236.44 and a 200-day moving average of $1,071.39.

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

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In other Netflix news, Director Bradford L. Smith sold 3,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,124.26, for a total value of $4,405,974.94. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,969 shares in the company, valued at $8,959,227.94. The trade was a 32.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,211.67, for a total value of $3,151,553.67. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,691 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,273.97. This represents a 41.34% decrease in their position. 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 in the last three months. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 bought a new position in shares of Netflix in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Netflix in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Stephens Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 150.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 25 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Netflix during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% 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.

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