Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Receives “Sell” Rating from Benchmark

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $440.00 target price on the Internet television network’s stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential downside of 28.18% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on NFLX. UBS Group raised 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Netflix from $585.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Netflix from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Netflix from $595.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $614.75.

Netflix Price Performance

Netflix stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $612.62. The company had a trading volume of 571,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,189,539. The company has a market capitalization of $265.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.22. Netflix has a 12-month low of $315.62 and a 12-month high of $639.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $604.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $511.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The Internet television network reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by ($0.09). Netflix had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 24.76%. The company had revenue of $8.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Netflix will post 17.05 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 20,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.42, for a total value of $12,553,897.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 28 shares in the company, valued at $17,091.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 20,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.42, for a total value of $12,553,897.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 28 shares in the company, valued at $17,091.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay C. Hoag sold 47,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.50, for a total transaction of $25,873,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 431,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,284,217. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 268,335 shares of company stock worth $151,619,811 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NFLX. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 290.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 78 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 933.3% during the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 62 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 1,550.0% during the 4th quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.