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Shares of online streaming company Netflix (NFLX) fell 6.3% to close at $265.14 on December 7. Netflix has generated returns of -7.3% this month and -29% since the start of October. Despite Netflix’s recent pullback, the stock has gained an impressive 38% in 2018.
Netflix (NFLX) has been the leading global streaming company for a while now. The arrival of over-the-top (OTT) streaming services has led to a fall in traditional TV services in recent years. Netflix’s problem is compounded because these companies will be pulling their content from the streaming giant.
Morgan Stanley now owns 2,364,657 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $925,600,000 after purchasing an additional 37,425 shares during the last quarter. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Netflix’s revenue was up 34.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. In related news, CEO Reed Hastings sold 99,883 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 24th.
Wells sold 588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 19th. The stock has a market cap of $120.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 226.30, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s revenue was up 34.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,143,430 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $11,277,562,000 after acquiring an additional 249,147 shares during the period.
Adam Levy, The Motley FoolMotley FoolDecember 6, 2018, 2:00 PM GMT. In case you missed it, Saturday Night Live recently mocked Netflix's (NASDAQ: NFLX) spendthrift manner, joking that the company is "making every show in the world." Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos took the jokes in stride at a recent investor conference, pointing out that Netflix is buying so much content because it's not restricted by the same constraints of a traditional television network. In other words, he'd rather err on the side of too much content versus too little. How Netflix's content creates value. Additionally, award-winning content can also attract better talent to create new content for Netflix, which may have a broader appeal. For example, the company is set to release films from Martin Scorcese and Michael Bay next year and signed Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy to extended contracts thanks, in part, to its growing presence at award ceremonies.
The streaming giant's international subscriber numbers have grown by leaps and bounds in recent quarters, enabling it to offset the slowdown in the U.S. market. But despite the impressive increase in the company's international subscriber count, it still has a lot of room to grow its business in markets such as the Asia-Pacific region. Gregory Peters, the chief product officer at Netflix, said that the company is looking to "experiment with other pricing models -- not only for India, but around the world -- that allow us to sort of broaden access, by providing a pricing tier that sits below our current lowest tier." Instead, it's expected to add a fourth pricing tier that will cut down on more features but help it attract new users into the ecosystem. If implemented, this would be a smart strategy on Netflix's part; the company would be better-equipped to cut its teeth in a market such as the Asia-Pacific region, which seems to be the most plausible place to test its lower-priced plan. Now, it's a good thing that Netflix is focused on building more content by investing in over 100 film and television projects across markets such as India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan. But it needs to back itself up with more accessible pricing plans to bring more users into its fold, which is probably why it's contemplating adding another pricing tier to compete more effectively in these markets.
We at Insider Monkey have gone over 700 13F filings that hedge funds and prominent investors are required to file by the SEC The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of September 30th. Our research has shown that hedge funds' small-cap stock picks managed to the beat the market by double digits annually between 1999 and 2016, but the margin of outperformance has been declining in recent years. We're going to take a gander at the recent hedge fund action regarding The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS). How have hedgies been trading The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)? Moreover, Maverick Capital, Adage Capital Management, and Diamond Hill Capital were also bullish on The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), allocating a large percentage of their portfolios to this stock. As one would reasonably expect, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves.
Netflix will still be there for fans of the old TV series Friends, but maintaining the relationship will come at a steep price. The report cited two unidentified people with direct knowledge of Netflix's deal with the series' rights holder, AT&T. Netflix tweeted that it will continue showing Friends, but didn't disclose financial details. Besides current rivals such as Hulu and Amazon, Netflix is also facing a significant threat next year when Walt Disney Co. plans to roll out a video streaming service featuring its popular movies and TV shows. As part of its move into streaming, Disney will be pulling much of the entertainment that it has licensed to Netflix for years.
Reportedly, the company will order original shows from the continent in 2019.In Africa, the streaming giant has already forayed into Nigeria, the world’s second-biggest movie industry by volume, after purchasing worldwide rights to Lionheart. Netflix’s New Content Distribution Strategy to Aid GrowthIn a unique move, Netflix will release three high profile films — Roma, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Bird Box in a few theaters in the Unites States and overseas, ahead of their release on the streaming platform, per Reuters.This comes after major directors, exhibitors and others reportedly expressed concerns over how their content is made available only on small screens. We expect Netflix’s new strategy to win projects that require theatrical releases, which may not see enough success on small screen.Additionally, theatrical releases are expected to boost the company’s merchandising business aimed at promoting consumer products related to its popular titles. Further, Apple AAPL is likely to launch a low-cost streaming TV dongle to support its upcoming streaming service to sell a standalone subscription for its original content.We believe Netflix’s strategy to focus both on content and distribution techniques may help it strengthen its global subscriber base amid stiff competition.Netflix currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
