Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Price Up 1.5% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) traded up 1.5% on Tuesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft now has a $95.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $100.00. Netflix traded as high as $71.36 and last traded at $70.30. 33,178,509 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 42,684,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.23.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on NFLX. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on shares of Netflix from $102.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. HSBC lowered shares of Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 target price on Netflix and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Netflix in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Netflix from an “underweight” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, Director Richard N. Barton sold 720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.27, for a total transaction of $54,194.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,164.20. The trade was a 22.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.54, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 18.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 179,045 shares of company stock valued at $13,132,194. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Netflix News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank upgraded Netflix to Buy from Hold/Neutral, arguing that the roughly 26% year-to-date decline has created an attractive entry point. The bank set a $95 price target, reduced from $100 but still implying substantial upside from recent levels. Deutsche Bank upgrades Netflix to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: The upgrade emphasizes Netflix’s underappreciated international growth, global production footprint and engagement trends outside the United States. Deutsche Bank believes investors are focusing too heavily on weaker U.S. viewing while overlooking the company’s overseas competitive advantages. Deutsche Bank turns bullish on Netflix
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also cited Netflix’s potential in advertising, artificial intelligence and global content. The view is that the current valuation does not fully reflect longer-term growth or operating leverage, helping drive the stock’s rebound after a difficult September. Netflix growth undervalued despite global content and AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix’s planned selective push into live sports and events could provide additional engagement and advertising opportunities, but management is not pursuing a broad sports-rights strategy, so the near-term financial impact is uncertain. Netflix sports strategy
• Negative Sentiment: The bullish call came with an unusual caveat: Deutsche Bank lowered its price target and trimmed some estimates. Analysts remain concerned about weaker viewing, a lack of breakout titles and slowing growth ahead of Netflix’s third-quarter results. Netflix upgrade with a lower target

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Netflix during the second quarter worth $105,697,000. Shepherd Street Advisors LLC bought a new position in Netflix during the fourth quarter worth about $2,216,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Netflix by 798.5% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 42,542 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $3,989,000 after purchasing an additional 37,807 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Netflix by 900.0% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 192,210 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $18,022,000 after purchasing an additional 172,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Netflix by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 106,451 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $10,235,000 after purchasing an additional 21,260 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Netflix Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.90. The stock has a market cap of $292.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

About Netflix

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a global entertainment company that operates a subscription-based streaming service. It offers a broad range of television series, films, documentaries, and other programming, including original productions developed under the Netflix brand and licensed content from third-party studios.

The company also provides advertising-supported viewing options in some markets and has expanded into related entertainment categories, including mobile and cloud-based games, live programming, and consumer products associated with selected titles.