Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Up 2.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s share price shot up 2.7% during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $115.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Netflix traded as high as $102.34 and last traded at $102.05. 34,711,720 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 48,222,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.39.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on NFLX. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, February 20th. KeyCorp set a $110.00 price target on Netflix and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Cfra upgraded Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David A. Hyman sold 5,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.06, for a total transaction of $464,230.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 316,100 shares in the company, valued at $25,623,066. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cletus R. Willems sold 3,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.67, for a total value of $259,253.12. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,543,023 shares of company stock worth $141,145,842 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Netflix News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets are boosting sentiment — Goldman Sachs (new $120 target), Morgan Stanley (raised to $115, overweight) and Oppenheimer (raised to $135, Outperform) have been positive on NFLX, citing profitability and price-hike/ad-revenue tailwinds. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 expectations point to an earnings beat: UBS and other outlets expect results modestly above Netflix’s guidance due to recent price increases and accelerating ad business; that outlook is a near-term catalyst ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Deal risk removed — Netflix walking away from the Warner Bros. Discovery deal has been framed as net positive by analysts (clears acquisition overhang, leaves cash and ad momentum intact), supporting upside case. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Product & ecosystem moves (e.g., Netflix Playground kids app, sports/dining partnerships) widen engagement and new monetization paths—supporting revenue diversification. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market shows “sawtooth” volatility implying a strong post‑earnings move — this signals bigger price swings after results (direction depends on beat vs. miss). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst notes and features (comparisons with Disney, founder-led company profiles) underscore Netflix’s steady revenue growth vs. peers but offer mixed valuation signals — useful context but not immediately catalytic. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market calendar: multiple outlets flag April 16 (earnings) as the key date — expect elevated newsflow and volatility into the print. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/refund risk in Europe — an Italian court ordered refunds over repeated price hikes; although appeal is possible, the ruling introduces regulatory/consumer-risk uncertainty. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet nuance: coverage points to roughly $7.4B of stock-option-related obligations that can act like hidden leverage — investors should monitor dilution/financial flexibility implications. Read More.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Netflix by 912.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 390,014,981 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $36,567,805,000 after buying an additional 351,493,659 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Netflix by 927.6% in 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 buying an additional 159,578,053 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Netflix by 892.0% in 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 buying an additional 89,558,684 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Netflix by 859.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,341,444 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $8,376,656,000 after buying an additional 80,025,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in 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 valued at $8,068,882,000 after buying an additional 75,107,069 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Netflix Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $430.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.11.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.97 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 43.26% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 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.