Netflix's (NFLX) Hold Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Key Points

• Netflix's stock has a "hold" rating reiterated by Benchmark, with a consensus target price of $1,336.69 based on an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.
• The company reported $5.87 earnings per share for its most recent quarter, missing expectations, while revenue increased by 17.2% year-over-year to $11.51 billion.
• Significant insider transactions occurred, with CFO Spencer Neumann and CEO Theodore Sarandos selling thousands of shares recently, leading to a decrease in their ownership stakes.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on NFLX. Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,500.00 to $1,560.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Netflix from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell 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 $1,336.69.

Netflix Trading Up 0.2%

NFLX stock opened at $1,241.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Netflix has a twelve month low of $744.26 and a twelve month high of $1,341.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $527.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.59. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,214.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,182.49.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The Internet television network reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.88 by ($1.01). Netflix had a net margin of 24.58% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $11.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Netflix has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 5.450-5.450 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Netflix will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,162.40, for a total value of $3,023,402.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,290,418.40. This represents a 41.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 2,026 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,160.62, for a total transaction of $2,351,416.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 15,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,604,284.16. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 104,100 shares of company stock valued at $122,710,980. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Netflix in the second quarter worth about $7,929,645,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Netflix by 128,553.9% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,881,129 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $6,536,466,000 after acquiring an additional 4,877,335 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix during the first quarter valued at about $2,385,585,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 343,058.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,463,876 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $3,299,450,000 after buying an additional 2,463,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 57.3% during the first 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 buying an additional 1,236,251 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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