Sanford C. Bernstein Begins Coverage on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating on the Internet television network’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Monday, August 17th. HSBC cut Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Netflix from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. New Street Research upped their target price on Netflix from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $85.00 price target on shares of Netflix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.15.

Netflix Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ NFLX opened at $70.30 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.73. The stock has a market cap of $292.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.53. Netflix has a 12-month low of $65.08 and a 12-month high of $124.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The Internet television network reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. Netflix had a net margin of 28.22% and a return on equity of 40.02%. The firm had revenue of $12.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Netflix will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Spencer Neumann sold 9,248 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.79, for a total transaction of $700,905.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,592,316.73. This trade represents a 11.14% 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, insider David A. Hyman sold 5,723 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.85, for a total value of $416,920.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,027,885. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,045 shares of company stock worth $13,132,194. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NFLX. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Netflix during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Netflix in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 2,284.6% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 310 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Netflix during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Netflix by 712.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 325 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank upgraded Netflix (NFLX) to Buy from Hold, arguing that investors are overlooking the company’s international engagement, global content-production advantages and potential artificial-intelligence applications. The bank set a $95 price target, down from $100 but still implying substantial upside from recent levels. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Billionaire investor Bill Ackman disclosed that he is back in Netflix stock, describing the company as an “amazing business” with a dominant market position. His endorsement reinforces the bullish view that Netflix’s scale, brand and global distribution remain difficult for rivals to replicate. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix could benefit from proposed U.S. legislation that would create a tax credit of up to 30% for qualifying domestic film and television production costs. However, the bill is only proposed, and any benefit would depend on its passage and the company’s production eligibility. Quiver Quantitative article
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish analysts remain concerned about weaker viewing and engagement, particularly in the United States, as well as a lack of breakout content this year. Those concerns have contributed to falling growth expectations and pressure on the stock ahead of third-quarter results. Financial Post article
• Negative Sentiment: The Deutsche Bank upgrade came with reduced financial estimates and a lower price target, highlighting the unusual combination of greater optimism about long-term value but caution about near-term operating performance. Investors will likely watch engagement, subscriber trends and advertising growth for confirmation. Yahoo Finance article

About Netflix

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a global entertainment company that operates a subscription-based streaming service. It offers a broad range of television series, films, documentaries, and other programming, including original productions developed under the Netflix brand and licensed content from third-party studios.

The company also provides advertising-supported viewing options in some markets and has expanded into related entertainment categories, including mobile and cloud-based games, live programming, and consumer products associated with selected titles.