Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $848.70 and last traded at $847.70, with a volume of 310583 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $847.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $825.00 price objective (up previously from $770.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Netflix from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on Netflix from $740.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Netflix from $635.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Netflix from $625.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $753.45.

Netflix Trading Up 0.4 %

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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $739.20 and its 200 day moving average is $683.35. The company has a market capitalization of $363.59 billion, a PE ratio of 47.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 35.86% and a net margin of 20.70%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 4,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $725.00, for a total transaction of $3,184,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,490,250. The trade was a 25.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 45,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.16, for a total transaction of $31,981,986.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 85 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $60,023.60. This represents a 99.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,277 shares of company stock valued at $132,875,601. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DigitalBridge Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,921 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Netflix by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Netflix by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 82,931 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $55,968,000 after purchasing an additional 30,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Netflix by 7.7% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 121,400 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $86,105,000 after buying an additional 8,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

About Netflix

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.