Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Up 1.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Netflix shares increased by 1.6% following an upgrade from a hold rating to a buy rating by Wall Street Zen, with the stock last trading at $1,223.53.
• Fourteen analysts rate Netflix as a Buy with a consensus average target price of $1,297.66, while one has a Strong Buy rating and others hold mixed ratings.
• In the last three months, insiders sold 146,307 shares of Netflix, totaling over $179 million, with significant sales by CFO Spencer Neumann and Director Jay C. Hoag.

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.6% during trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $1,233.80 and last traded at $1,223.53. 1,243,240 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 4,116,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,204.65.

NFLX has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,500.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Netflix from $1,400.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,070.00 to $1,390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Netflix presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,297.66.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,307.22, for a total value of $3,400,079.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,824,949.02. The trade was a 41.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jay C. Hoag sold 31,750 shares of the business's 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 transaction of $39,762,112.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 63,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,948,144. This trade represents a 33.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,307 shares of company stock worth $179,443,809 over the last three months. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Netflix by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,379,084 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $51,394,583,000 after purchasing an additional 381,824 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,444,013 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $23,359,801,000 after purchasing an additional 360,604 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 2.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,732,066 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $10,940,505,000 after purchasing an additional 304,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Netflix by 2.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,926,733 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $13,234,278,000 after buying an additional 229,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 109,524.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,835,722 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $8,239,576,000 after buying an additional 8,827,662 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Netflix Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $520.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,231.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,111.65.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $11.08 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.88 EPS. Netflix has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 6.870-6.870 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS 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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