Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Raised to Buy at Needham & Company LLC

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was upgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $700.00 price objective on the Internet television network’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.65% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $555.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $570.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Netflix from $580.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $628.76.

Netflix Price Performance

NFLX stock opened at $610.56 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $605.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $511.86. The company has a market capitalization of $264.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.84, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.22. Netflix has a 52-week low of $315.62 and a 52-week high of $639.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The Internet television network reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $9.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.28 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 24.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Netflix will post 17.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 68,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.33, for a total transaction of $38,707,632.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,379.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Ann Mather sold 3,673 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $2,203,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 68,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.33, for a total transaction of $38,707,632.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,379.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 268,335 shares of company stock valued at $151,619,811 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NFLX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Netflix in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,558,598,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Netflix by 540.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,878,785 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,888,503,000 after buying an additional 3,273,592 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Netflix by 117,939.1% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,742,048 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $808,575,000 after buying an additional 2,739,725 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Netflix by 15,039.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,075,569 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,010,553,000 after buying an additional 2,061,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Netflix by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,452,271 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $2,654,602,000 after buying an additional 1,573,978 shares in 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.