Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Down 4.3% After Analyst Downgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4.3% during trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $1,010.00 to $1,000.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Netflix traded as low as $835.11 and last traded at $837.36. Approximately 1,584,633 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 2,516,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $875.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on NFLX. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Netflix from $635.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Netflix from $820.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, October 18th. Macquarie reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $795.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Netflix from $820.00 to $835.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $824.00.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 48,363 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.60, for a total transaction of $43,362,265.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,212.40. This represents a 99.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy M. Haley sold 11,090 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.96, for a total transaction of $8,405,776.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,742 shares of company stock worth $131,030,268. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. DigitalBridge Group Inc. grew its position in Netflix by 35.5% in the second quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 36,063 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $24,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,451 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 848,150 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $760,918,000 after purchasing an additional 156,958 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Netflix by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,579,404 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,829,494,000 after purchasing an additional 29,726 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Netflix by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 612,458 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $434,398,000 after buying an additional 11,921 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Netflix by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 41,946 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $29,751,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Netflix Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $358.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $878.06 and a 200-day moving average of $752.69.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.09 by $0.31. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.78 EPS for the current year.

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.