Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Up 1.2% - Here's Why

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) traded up 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1,059.55 and last traded at $1,052.65. 2,250,737 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 3,696,118 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,040.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,025.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,150.00 price objective (up from $1,100.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, April 18th. Arete Research raised Netflix to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Netflix from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Netflix from $650.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,072.12.

Netflix Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $954.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $901.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 25,360 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $921.15, for a total transaction of $23,360,364.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $362,933.10. The trade was a 98.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jeffrey William Karbowski sold 160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,000.00, for a total value of $160,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 273,855 shares of company stock worth $267,474,816. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

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