Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the Internet television network’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 23.33% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Phillip Securities downgraded Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $1,100.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Moffett Nathanson restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,150.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Netflix in a report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,039.91.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NFLX opened at $973.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. Netflix has a one year low of $542.01 and a one year high of $1,064.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.07, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $954.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $894.38.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The Internet television network reported $6.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.74 by $0.87. Netflix had a net margin of 22.34% and a return on equity of 38.32%. The firm had revenue of $10.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.28 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Netflix will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, Director Jay C. Hoag sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $979.71, for a total value of $604,481.07. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Strive Masiyiwa sold 2,813 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,007.87, for a total transaction of $2,835,138.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 274,312 shares of company stock valued at $267,919,297. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Netflix by 100.0% in the first quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 26 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 82.4% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 31 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Netflix in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Netflix during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Netflix during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.