Riverbridge Partners LLC Sells 23,612 Shares of Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Riverbridge Partners LLC reduced its position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 386,662 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after selling 23,612 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Netflix were worth $26,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Netflix in the second quarter valued at $105,697,000. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in Netflix by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 219,221 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $15,253,000 after acquiring an additional 47,339 shares during the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Netflix by 91.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 34,547 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 16,510 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Netflix during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,743,000. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in Netflix by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,736,198 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $195,365,000 after acquiring an additional 259,794 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NFLX shares. CICC Research dropped their target price on shares of Netflix from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Netflix from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Netflix from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Huber Research downgraded Netflix from a “buy” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, CLSA assumed coverage on Netflix in a report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.14.

Key Stories Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Netflix’s EMEA revenue grew 11% year over year in the third quarter. Management says sustaining that growth in Europe will depend partly on preserving creative freedom amid regulation. Article: Netflix boss says creativity and regulation are not happy bedfellows in Europe
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix launched an international campaign using 35mm film, supported by a social series about creatives’ viewing tastes. The campaign may support brand engagement, but its financial impact is unclear. Article: Netflix embraces 35mm film in international campaign
• Neutral Sentiment: A report described November short interest as totaling zero shares, with a 0.0-day days-to-cover ratio. That figure does not indicate meaningful short positioning, despite the report’s claim of a large increase.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor confidence remains a concern: coverage cites slowing Netflix growth and evidence that viewers are watching less. A content leadership shake-up is among management’s steps to address the challenge, but the concerns weigh on the growth outlook. Article: Why Netflix Stock Plunged 11% in October
• Negative Sentiment: Netflix also declined amid weakness across entertainment stocks. Coverage linked the sector’s reaction to concerns about the film outlook and debt at the newly combined Warner Bros.–Paramount, though it characterized Netflix and Disney as relatively less affected. Article: Skydance Sinks as Warner Bros. Film Slump Overshadows Earnings Beat

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bradford Smith sold 17,980 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $1,151,259.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 79,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,102,550.70. The trade was a 18.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Spencer Neumann sold 9,253 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.15, for a total transaction of $612,085.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,881,010.05. This trade represents a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,024 shares of company stock worth $5,788,733. Company insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NFLX opened at $63.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $70.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Netflix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $61.39 and a 12-month high of $116.73.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.05. Netflix had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 42.69%. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Netflix Company Profile

Netflix, Inc. is an entertainment company that offers subscription-based streaming of television series, films, documentaries and other programming. Its service also includes mobile games and, in some markets, advertising-supported viewing plans. Netflix produces and licenses content, including titles made under its Netflix brand. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD-by-mail rental business, the company launched its streaming service in 2007 and later expanded into original programming.