Hollencrest Capital Management Cuts Stock Position in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Hollencrest Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 40.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,173 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after selling 6,867 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Netflix were worth $726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Netflix in the 3rd quarter valued at about $103,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Netflix in the 2nd quarter worth about $121,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Netflix in the 3rd quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Netflix by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other Netflix news, Director Bradford L. Smith sold 35,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.52, for a total value of $2,789,944.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 79,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,177,568.80. This trade represents a 31.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.54, for a total value of $2,008,524.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 120,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,893,265.74. This represents a 18.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 600,295 shares of company stock valued at $49,056,671 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NFLX. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Netflix from $128.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on Netflix from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Oppenheimer set a $85.00 price target on Netflix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, CLSA initiated coverage on Netflix in a report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Four investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.19.

Key Netflix News

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 Trading Up 2.4%

NFLX opened at $81.72 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.33. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.08 and a 1-year high of $126.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.52.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The Internet television network reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.58 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 40.02% and a net margin of 28.22%.The business’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts expect 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.