Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Gets Downgrade from Phillip Securities

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was downgraded by Phillip Securities from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday. Seaport Research Partners set a $85.00 price objective on Netflix in a research note on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday. Finally, CICC Research cut their price objective on Netflix from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.59.

Netflix Price Performance

Netflix stock opened at $65.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.64. The company has a market capitalization of $270.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.62. Netflix has a 1 year low of $64.10 and a 1 year high of $116.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.87 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 42.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Netflix will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other Netflix news, insider David Hyman sold 5,723 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,027,885. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Richard Barton sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $54,194.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $185,164.20. This trade represents a 22.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 179,045 shares of company stock worth $13,132,194 over the last 90 days. 1.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Netflix in the second quarter valued at $105,697,000. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 27.5% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 219,221 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $15,253,000 after buying an additional 47,339 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 3,464.5% during the first quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 118,448 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $11,389,000 after buying an additional 115,125 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 31.8% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 886,527 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $85,244,000 after buying an additional 213,972 shares during the period. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Netflix during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,743,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Netflix News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Netflix reported third-quarter EPS of $0.87, ahead of the $0.82 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $12.87 billion. Operating margin rose to 34.6%, supporting the argument that the core streaming business remains highly profitable. Can Netflix Stock Hold Margin Gains as Content Spending Keeps Growing?
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term bulls argue that Netflix’s profitability, systematic share repurchases, local-language content, and continued subscriber retention could create meaningful upside after the sell-off. Bill Ackman has also returned to the stock and expects annualized returns above 20%. Bill Ackman Lost $400 Million on Netflix
• Positive Sentiment: Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood bought 18,000 Netflix shares, signaling that some growth-oriented investors view the two-year-low valuation as an opportunity. Cathie Wood Just Bought Netflix Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix is reportedly planning layoffs at its Bay Area headquarters. The cuts could reduce costs, but they also raise questions about operating priorities and employee productivity. Netflix Stock Slips as Layoffs Hit Bay Area Headquarters
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount Skydance’s completed merger highlights intensifying competition for scale and content across the entertainment industry, potentially increasing pressure on Netflix to sustain its content advantage. Could Skydance Be Bigger Than Disney?
• Negative Sentiment: Management reduced its 2026 advertising-revenue outlook to approximately $2.7 billion from about $3 billion. Softer ad growth undermines a major part of Netflix’s expansion thesis and overshadowed the earnings beat. Netflix Cut Its 2026 Ad Forecast by $300 Million
• Negative Sentiment: Disappointing fourth-quarter revenue guidance and decelerating growth have led investors to discount the strong quarterly results. Netflix’s reduced 2026 free-cash-flow outlook is another concern as content spending continues to rise. Netflix Has Lower FCF Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts lowered their price targets or ratings after the report. One fair-value estimate fell from $92.62 to $86.24, while UBS, Guggenheim, and Needham adopted more cautious views. Netflix Stock Fair Value Falls After Cautious Q3 Analyst Revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate viewing time is declining even though subscribers are staying, suggesting weaker engagement. YouTube and lower-cost streaming alternatives may also be contributing to slower revenue growth. Netflix Is Losing Viewers

Netflix Company Profile

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming services. Its platform offers a broad selection of television series, films, documentaries, stand-up specials and other programming, including content produced by Netflix and licensed from third-party studios and creators.

The company also develops and distributes original productions under the Netflix brand and has expanded into additional entertainment offerings, including mobile and cloud-based games in select markets and live programming.