Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stake in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its stake in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,123,870 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after selling 10,392 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Netflix were worth $80,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacific Sun Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacific Sun Financial Corp now owns 574 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 9.6% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 1.8% in the second quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 682 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 2.0% in the second quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 829 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Netflix by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,500 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In related news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.54, for a total transaction of $2,008,524.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,931 shares in the company, valued at $8,893,265.74. The trade was a 18.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 9,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.79, for a total value of $700,905.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,592,316.73. The trade was a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 600,295 shares of company stock valued at $49,056,671 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NFLX. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Rosenblatt Securities set a $75.00 price objective on Netflix and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Netflix from $112.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Netflix from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Netflix from an “underweight” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.19.

Key Stories Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square reportedly added approximately 13.1 million Netflix shares, making NFLX one of the hedge fund’s new concentrated holdings. The move may bolster investor confidence in Netflix’s valuation and long-term earnings potential. Bill Ackman portfolio overhaul article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators point to Netflix’s rapidly expanding advertising business, a potential $3 billion advertising revenue opportunity, continued global expansion and margin growth as catalysts for a possible recovery toward $100 and beyond. Record share buybacks could further support earnings per share. Netflix stock price prediction article
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix is being described as an undervalued long-term holding, with bullish arguments centered on double-digit revenue growth, free-cash-flow generation and the ability to monetize live events and lower-priced ad-supported plans. Netflix five-year outlook article
• Neutral Sentiment: The Netflix preview of Grand Theft Auto VI attracted significant online attention and traffic, but the immediate stock-market beneficiary appears to be Take-Two Interactive, the game’s publisher, rather than Netflix. GTA 6 Netflix preview article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts argue that Netflix’s growth is moderating and that Alphabet offers stronger diversification, advertising exposure and valuation. Recent commentary also identifies resistance near $82 and muted enthusiasm following the latest earnings report. NFLX versus GOOGL article
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity remains a potential overhang: executives and directors made numerous sales and no purchases over the past six months. Investors may interpret the selling as reduced insider conviction, although it may also reflect routine diversification. Netflix ad monetization and market resistance article

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NFLX opened at $81.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.52. Netflix, Inc. has a one year low of $65.08 and a one year high of $126.71.

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. Netflix had a return on equity of 40.02% and a net margin of 28.22%.The firm had revenue of $12.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.