Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading Up 1.6% - Should You Buy?

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $1,150.70 and last traded at $1,151.98. 1,266,866 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 3,708,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,133.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NFLX. Cfra Research raised shares of Netflix to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Netflix from $875.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Netflix from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Netflix from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,084.91.

Netflix Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $968.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $917.85. The firm has a market cap of $492.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.32, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The Internet television network reported $6.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.74 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $10.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.51 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 38.32% and a net margin of 22.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other news, Director Reed Hastings sold 26,977 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,133.05, for a total transaction of $30,566,289.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,421.70. This represents a 98.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Strive Masiyiwa sold 2,813 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,007.87, for a total value of $2,835,138.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 182,759 shares of company stock worth $186,744,388 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NFLX. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Netflix by 100.0% in the first quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 26 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd bought a new position in Netflix in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Netflix by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 31 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Netflix during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in Netflix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.