Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading Down 1.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares dropped 1.1% on Wednesday after HSBC downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. HSBC now has a $76.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $96.00. Netflix traded as low as $71.07 and last traded at $71.36. Approximately 32,477,200 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 42,918,629 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.16.

NFLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer set a $85.00 target price on shares of Netflix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Netflix from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on Netflix from $96.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. China Renaissance cut their target price on Netflix from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Netflix from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Netflix presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, Director Richard N. Barton sold 2,160 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $162,216.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474.60. The trade was a 89.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,893,265.74. This represents a 18.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 179,045 shares of company stock worth $13,132,194 in the last three months. 1.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts argue that Netflix’s sharp pullback has already priced in substantial bad news, potentially creating an attractive entry point for long-term investors. Other bullish commentary highlights the company’s potential for meaningful earnings growth through 2030. The Case for Buying Netflix Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Disney’s higher Disney+ and Hulu prices could make Netflix’s premium plans appear more competitively positioned, although the broader streaming market remains highly competitive. Disney Raises Disney+ and Hulu Streaming Prices
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street’s outlook is divided, with significant differences among analysts’ price targets. Some see valuation support after the selloff, while others expect additional downside. Netflix’s decision not to pursue Warner Bros. Discovery also avoided potentially expensive acquisition spending, but leaves rivals to expand their content scale. Netflix Stock Has a Strange Stock Price Target Problem
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC downgraded Netflix from Buy to Hold and reduced its price target from $96 to $76, citing a widening viewing-hour gap between Netflix and YouTube. The concern is that YouTube is capturing more consumer time, weakening Netflix’s engagement and making its recovery harder. This Analyst Just Downgraded Netflix Stock, And YouTube May Be to Blame
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo separately cut Netflix to Underweight and lowered its target to $57, pointing to weaker personal and broader viewer engagement and rising competition from YouTube and other formats. The downgrade has intensified concerns about whether live sports, video podcasts and short-form content can restore viewing momentum. Netflix Is Down After Wells Fargo Flags Engagement Risks
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks currently rates NFLX a #4 (Sell), suggesting limited confidence in near-term performance. Bearish trading commentary, including a proposed bear put spread, reflects expectations that competitive and engagement pressures may continue weighing on the shares. Are Netflix Shares Still Worth Watching?

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Netflix during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,902,221,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 4.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 180,129,582 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $12,861,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474,820 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 892.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,598,678 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $9,305,336,000 after purchasing an additional 89,558,684 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 859.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,341,444 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,376,656,000 after purchasing an additional 80,025,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Netflix during the fourth quarter worth $5,803,248,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Netflix Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.78 and its 200 day moving average is $83.68. The firm has a market cap of $297.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

Netflix Company Profile

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming access to television series, films, documentaries and other video content. Its service includes Netflix-produced and licensed programming, with offerings that may vary by market. The company also provides an advertising-supported plan in selected countries and has expanded into mobile games and other interactive entertainment.

Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD-by-mail rental service in the United States.