Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Price Down 4.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) fell 4.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $1,010.00 to $1,000.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Netflix traded as low as $835.11 and last traded at $837.36. 1,584,633 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 2,516,036 shares. The stock had previously closed at $875.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on NFLX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Netflix from $758.00 to $797.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Netflix from $820.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Netflix from $800.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Netflix from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 48,363 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.60, for a total value of $43,362,265.80. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 114 shares in the company, valued at $102,212.40. This trade represents a 99.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.67, for a total transaction of $204,433.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,610 shares in the company, valued at $24,202,828.70. This represents a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,742 shares of company stock worth $131,030,268. 1.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Netflix in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 700.0% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 48 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Netflix during the third quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $358.08 billion, a PE ratio of 47.41, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $878.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $753.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.09 by $0.31. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.