Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Acquires Shares of 145,897 Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. bought a new position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 145,897 shares of the Internet television network’s stock, valued at approximately $14,028,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Netflix by 912.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 390,014,981 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $36,567,805,000 after purchasing an additional 351,493,659 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Netflix by 927.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,780,995 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $16,574,986,000 after purchasing an additional 159,578,053 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Netflix by 892.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,598,678 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $9,305,336,000 after purchasing an additional 89,558,684 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 859.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,341,444 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,376,656,000 after buying an additional 80,025,890 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 685.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 86,058,878 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,068,882,000 after buying an additional 75,107,069 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Netflix’s Q2 results beat EPS expectations, but revenue came in slightly below consensus and management signaled growth could slow to around 12% in Q3, raising concerns about momentum. Netflix Has Plummeted Over the Past Year and Just Dropped Again on Earnings. At 22 Times Profits, Is It a Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to a “valuation reset” and weaker transparency after Netflix said it will report key viewership metrics less often, making it harder to measure progress. Is Netflix Asking Investors To Trust A Story It Will No Longer Tell?
• Negative Sentiment: The selloff has been amplified by bearish calls and articles arguing that sentiment remains weak, with some analysts saying the stock still has room to fall despite the recent drop. ‘Scratching the Surface,’ Says Top Investor About Netflix Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Netflix also completed a $1 billion senior notes offering to refinance debt, which is financially prudent but may reinforce the market’s focus on capital structure rather than growth. Netflix Issues $1 Billion Senior Notes to Refinance Debt

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In other Netflix news, Director Bradford L. Smith sold 35,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $6,177,568.80. This trade represents a 31.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 27,312 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.97, for a total transaction of $2,402,636.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 284,804 shares in the company, valued at $25,054,207.88. This represents a 8.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 899,839 shares of company stock worth $80,141,661. 1.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Netflix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. China Intl Cap upgraded shares of Netflix to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Netflix from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Netflix from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Netflix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.48.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of NFLX stock opened at $68.53 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.04 and its 200 day moving average is $86.31. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.08 and a 1-year high of $126.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $285.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Netflix Company Profile

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.