Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The Internet television network reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.51 by $0.77, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $9.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.28 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 16.04% and a return on equity of 24.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.88 earnings per share. Netflix updated its Q2 guidance to $4.68 EPS.

Netflix Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NFLX traded down $3.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $610.56. 7,270,484 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,278,392. The firm has a market cap of $264.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.22. Netflix has a 1 year low of $315.62 and a 1 year high of $639.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $604.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 20,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.42, for a total transaction of $12,553,897.72. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 28 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,091.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 5,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $625.00, for a total value of $3,345,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,181,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 20,566 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $610.42, for a total transaction of $12,553,897.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 28 shares in the company, valued at $17,091.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 268,335 shares of company stock worth $151,619,811 in the last ninety days. 2.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Netflix during the fourth quarter worth about $1,501,762,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Netflix by 117,939.1% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,742,048 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $808,575,000 after acquiring an additional 2,739,725 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Netflix by 202.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,790,092 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $788,518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198,774 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Netflix by 113.1% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,869,385 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $823,446,000 after acquiring an additional 992,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Netflix by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,382,145 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,646,699,000 after acquiring an additional 862,463 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Netflix from $580.00 to $705.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $585.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Netflix from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “sell” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Netflix currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $614.75.

Netflix Company Profile

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.