Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Earns Hold Rating from Benchmark

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

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on NFLX. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Netflix from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,200.00 price target (up previously from $1,175.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Netflix from $850.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,150.00 target price (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Netflix from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Netflix currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,066.24.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NFLX traded up $9.57 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $982.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,916,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,671,478. The firm has a market cap of $420.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55. Netflix has a 1-year low of $542.01 and a 1-year high of $1,064.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $954.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $894.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The Internet television network reported $6.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.74 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $10.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.51 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 38.32% and a net margin of 22.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Netflix will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jay C. Hoag sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $979.71, for a total value of $604,481.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $921.72, for a total value of $2,397,393.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 3,691 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,068.52. The trade was a 41.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 274,312 shares of company stock valued at $267,919,297 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Netflix by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,692,563 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,200,485,000 after acquiring an additional 198,148 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in Netflix by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 247 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group lifted its stake in Netflix by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,746 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 356.5% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 13,879 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $9,844,000 after acquiring an additional 10,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,515 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

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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