Wall Street Zen Downgrades Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, signaling a more cautious outlook for the stock.
• The average rating for Netflix is currently a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $1,297.66, despite mixed sentiment from other analysts.
• Netflix's stock opened at $1,211.64 and has shown notable fluctuations over the past year, with a low of $622.99 and a high of $1,341.15.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Netflix from $1,300.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Phillip Securities cut Netflix from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. 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 research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,150.00 price target (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,297.66.

Netflix Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:NFLX opened at $1,211.64 on Friday. Netflix has a 1 year low of $622.99 and a 1 year high of $1,341.15. The company has a market cap of $514.86 billion, a PE ratio of 51.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.59. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $1,232.25 and its 200 day moving average is $1,093.48.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The Internet television network reported $7.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.07 by $0.12. Netflix had a return on equity of 42.50% and a net margin of 24.58%. The firm had revenue of $11.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix will post 24.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,307.22, for a total value of $3,400,079.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,824,949.02. This trade represents a 41.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bradford L. Smith sold 3,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,124.26, for a total value of $4,405,974.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,959,227.94. This represents a 32.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 150,226 shares of company stock valued at $183,849,784 over the last 90 days. 1.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Netflix in the 1st quarter worth $2,385,585,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in Netflix by 343,058.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,463,876 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,299,450,000 after buying an additional 2,463,158 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Netflix by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,393,064 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,164,134,000 after buying an additional 1,236,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Netflix by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,006 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $4,076,903,000 after buying an additional 570,674 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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