Sanford C. Bernstein Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein has reiterated its "Buy" rating for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), reflecting confidence in the company's growth potential.
• Netflix's average target price is currently $1,339.81, with 27 analysts recommending a Buy and only 2 providing a Sell rating.
• In the latest earnings report, Netflix reported $7.19 earnings per share, beating estimates, and recorded revenue growth of 15.9% year-over-year.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NFLX. Morgan Stanley set a $1,500.00 price target on Netflix in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,425.00 price objective (up previously from $1,200.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays restated a "sell" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price (up from $1,000.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Phillip Securities cut Netflix from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Netflix has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,339.81.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NFLX stock opened at $1,183.59 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $1,213.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,174.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $502.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.59. Netflix has a 12 month low of $677.88 and a 12 month high of $1,341.15.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $7.07 by $0.12. The company 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 was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.88 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Netflix will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In other Netflix news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,162.40, for a total value of $3,023,402.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 3,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,290,418.40. This represents a 41.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Reed Hastings sold 42,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,171.92, for a total value of $49,426,897.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $461,736.48. The trade was a 99.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,100 shares of company stock worth $122,710,980 in the last ninety days. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $51,394,583,000 after acquiring an additional 381,824 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Netflix by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,444,013 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $23,359,801,000 after purchasing an additional 360,604 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,732,066 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $10,940,505,000 after buying an additional 304,399 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Netflix by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,926,733 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $13,234,278,000 after buying an additional 229,182 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Netflix during the second quarter worth about $7,929,645,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Netflix Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.