New Street Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock

Key Points

• New Street Research raised its Netflix price target to $102 (from $96), implying roughly a 4.8% upside; the consensus Street target is $114.73 and the average rating is "Moderate Buy."
• Q1 results beat expectations (EPS $1.23 vs $0.76; revenue $12.25B) but Netflix issued weaker-than-expected Q2 guidance, a combination that helped drive the stock down about 9.7%.
• Governance and sentiment concerns increased after co‑founder Reed Hastings said he will not stand for re‑election and insiders (including the CFO and CEO) sold sizable blocks of shares—insiders sold ~1.49M shares (~$136M) in the past 90 days.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at New Street Research from $96.00 to $102.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. New Street Research's price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.82% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NFLX. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Arete Research raised Netflix from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on Netflix from $96.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group set a $104.00 price target on Netflix in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Huber Research upgraded Netflix from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.73.

Netflix Stock Down 9.7%

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $97.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $410.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.67. Netflix has a twelve month low of $75.01 and a twelve month high of $134.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The Internet television network reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.17 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 28.52% and a return on equity of 43.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.61 earnings per share. Netflix has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.780 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Netflix will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 57,260 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.50, for a total transaction of $5,468,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,787 shares in the company, valued at $7,046,658.50. This trade represents a 43.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 105,781 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $8,773,476.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,130,291.60. This represents a 46.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,487,794 shares of company stock worth $136,255,772. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,521,322 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $46,183,983,000 after acquiring an additional 142,238 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 837.2% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 111,380 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $10,443,000 after purchasing an additional 99,496 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Netflix by 1,021.9% in the 4th quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd now owns 9,031 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 8,226 shares during the period. BNC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Netflix by 991.3% in the 4th quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,229 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $3,866,000 after purchasing an additional 37,451 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Netflix by 1,379.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 25,512 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $2,392,000 after purchasing an additional 23,788 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — revenue of $12.25B and GAAP EPS of $1.23 topped consensus, driven by subscription pricing, ad revenue growth and margin expansion; these fundamentals underpin many analyst “buy the dip” calls. Q1 results detail
• Positive Sentiment: Longer‑term growth levers remain: management emphasized live sports discussions (NFL interest) and continued ad‑tier expansion; analysts who stayed bullish point to strong cash generation and ad upside. Live sports / NFL rights
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/tech roadmap: Netflix plans a TikTok‑style vertical feed and broader AI use for recommendations — positive for engagement but not an immediate revenue catalyst. TechCrunch: vertical feed
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance disappointed — the company issued Q2 EPS/revenue guidance below consensus (management cited slower near‑term growth and margin pressure), which shifted focus from the quarter to the outlook and trimmed near‑term expectations. Reuters: downbeat Q2 forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change spooked the market — Reed Hastings announced he will not stand for re‑election to the board, prompting concern about governance continuity amid a strategic pivot after the failed Warner Bros. bid. That exit amplified the selloff. Deadline: Hastings exit
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction and price‑target moves were mixed-to-negative — several firms trimmed targets or moved to neutral/hold citing valuation and near‑term growth deceleration, increasing downward pressure. Invezz: analyst reactions

Netflix Company Profile

Netflix, Inc NASDAQ: NFLX is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming of films, television series, documentaries and other video content. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and headquartered in Los Gatos, California, the company began as a DVD-by-mail rental service and introduced streaming video in 2007. Netflix later expanded into producing and distributing original programming, beginning notable original hits in the 2010s, and now operates a content production and distribution ecosystem alongside its licensing activity.

The company's primary product is its on-demand streaming service, which can be accessed on a wide range of internet-connected devices and delivered through a suite of apps and web platforms.

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