Gregory Peters Sells 27,312 Shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) CEO Gregory Peters sold 27,312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.54, for a total value of $2,008,524.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,893,265.74. This represents a 18.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Netflix Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Netflix stock traded down $0.51 on Thursday, hitting $73.69. The stock had a trading volume of 28,776,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,609,168. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.81 and a 200 day moving average of $85.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $306.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.52. Netflix, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.08 and a twelve month high of $126.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The Internet television network reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.58 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 28.22% and a return on equity of 40.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 912.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 390,014,981 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $36,567,805,000 after purchasing an additional 351,493,659 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 927.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,780,995 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $16,574,986,000 after buying an additional 159,578,053 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 892.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,598,678 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $9,305,336,000 after buying an additional 89,558,684 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 859.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,341,444 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,376,656,000 after acquiring an additional 80,025,890 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Netflix by 903.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 85,349,973 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,002,414,000 after acquiring an additional 76,840,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NFLX shares. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 price objective on Netflix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. CLSA initiated coverage on shares of Netflix in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on shares of Netflix from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. China Renaissance increased their price target on Netflix from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Netflix from $118.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Netflix presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.48.

Key Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Netflix is reportedly considering launching always-on, linear-style TV channels. The move could increase viewing time, improve content discovery and create additional advertising opportunities by combining the familiarity of cable with streaming distribution. Netflix Killed Cable TV. Now the Streaming Giant Wants to Bring It Back
• Positive Sentiment: A Grand Theft Auto VI extended gameplay trailer is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on August 27, potentially attracting substantial attention and new engagement to the platform. The direct financial benefit is uncertain, but the partnership could strengthen Netflix’s position in interactive entertainment. Take-Two Stock Slips Despite News of a GTA VI Trailer Coming to Netflix
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix’s latest quarter modestly exceeded EPS expectations, while revenue narrowly missed forecasts. Revenue nevertheless increased 13.4% year over year, suggesting the business is still expanding but at a pace that may not satisfy investors accustomed to faster growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion remains generally constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above the current trading level. However, recent target-price reductions and downgrades indicate that Wall Street is recalibrating expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Netflix shares slipped after CEO Ted Sarandos and Chief Product Officer David Hyman disclosed planned sales under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. Because the sales were scheduled and tax-related, they are not necessarily a signal of deteriorating fundamentals, but the filings can weigh on sentiment. Netflix Insider Plans Stock Sale as NFLX Shares Slip
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Netflix is disclosing less engagement data, making it harder to assess viewing trends, content performance and subscriber momentum. Wall Street Is Worried Netflix Has an Engagement Problem
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is intensifying as YouTube Premium plans to bundle Peacock and NBCUniversal sports, potentially increasing pressure on Netflix’s share of viewers, subscriptions and entertainment spending. Netflix and MercadoLibre Are Underperforming the S&P 500

About Netflix

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming of films, television series, documentaries and other video content. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and headquartered in Los Gatos, California, the company began as a DVD-by-mail rental service and introduced streaming video in 2007. Netflix later expanded into producing and distributing original programming, beginning notable original hits in the 2010s, and now operates a content production and distribution ecosystem alongside its licensing activity.

The company’s primary product is its on-demand streaming service, which can be accessed on a wide range of internet-connected devices and delivered through a suite of apps and web platforms.