Sowell Financial Services LLC Increases Holdings in Netflix, Inc.

Sowell Financial Services LLC has boosted its position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, based on its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After acquiring an additional 359 shares during the quarter, the firm now owns 11,469 shares of the popular streaming service, making its total holdings worth approximately $10,222,000 as recorded in the SEC filing.

Institutional Investors Involvement

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also been active in buying and selling shares of NFLX recently. For instance, Swedbank AB increased its holdings by 1.8% in the third quarter, acquiring an additional 8,024 shares and raising its total to 465,208 shares with a value of $329,958,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. made a more significant move, raising its holdings by 13.3% during the same period, now owning 1,692,563 shares worth $1,200,485,000. Additionally, TFB Advisors LLC and Summit Global Investments increased their shares by 5.6% and 35.0%, respectively, while Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings by 11.3% in the same quarter. A significant proportion of Netflix's shares, approximately 80.93%, is held by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions

In related news, there have been notable insider activities. Director Strive Masiyiwa sold 2,813 shares on February 6, at an average price of $1,007.87, totaling approximately $2,835,138.31. Another key insider, Chairman Reed Hastings, sold 35,868 shares on January 2, for an average price of $888.08, resulting in a total transaction value of about $31,853,653.44. Post-sale, Hastings retains ownership of 114 shares valued at around $101,241. The recent insider sales amount to 288,103 shares worth about $279,142,041 over the past 90 days, with insiders now holding only 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Current Stock Performance

As of Friday, Netflix shares opened at $891.11. The company has a fifty-day moving average of $950.26 and a two-hundred-day moving average of $841.52. The stock attained a low of $542.01 and a high of $1,064.50 over the past year. Currently, Netflix holds a market capitalization of $381.18 billion. Other financial metrics include a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 44.94 and a beta of 1.38.

Quarterly Earnings Report

Netflix reported its quarterly earnings on January 21, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $4.27, which exceeded analysts' expectations by $0.07. The company reported a revenue of $10.25 billion, an increase of 16.0% from the same period the previous year when the EPS was $2.11. Analysts are projecting that Netflix will achieve an EPS of 24.58 for the current financial year.

Analysts' Outlook

Several analysts have recently shared their outlook on Netflix's stock. Barclays upgraded Netflix from an "underweight" rating to "equal weight" and raised the target price from $715.00 to $900.00. Goldman Sachs followed suit, increasing their target price from $850.00 to $960.00 while maintaining a "neutral" rating. KeyCorp has set an even higher target, moving from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 with an "overweight" rating. Meanwhile, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded the stock from "hold" to "strong-buy." Overall, among investment analysts, ten suggest holding the stock, while twenty-five recommend buying it, indicating a generally positive sentiment with an average target price of $1,021.70 for Netflix.

About Netflix, Inc.

Netflix, Inc. is a leading provider of entertainment services, offering a diverse range of TV series, documentaries, feature films, and games across multiple genres and languages, accessible through supported internet-connected devices including TVs, mobile devices, and set-top boxes.

Sowell, Financial, Netflix