Insider Selling: Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Director Sells 17,980 Shares of Stock

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) Director Bradford Smith sold 17,980 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total value of $1,151,259.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 79,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,102,550.70. This trade represents a 18.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Netflix Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NFLX traded down $1.38 on Tuesday, reaching $62.52. 48,378,465 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,783,723. Netflix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.48 and a 12 month high of $116.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.27.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.87 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 42.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NFLX shares. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Netflix from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Netflix from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Netflix from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 target price on Netflix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Netflix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Netflix in the second quarter valued at about $24,902,221,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 180,129,582 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $12,861,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,474,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 4.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,942,812 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $5,571,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376,349 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Netflix in the second quarter worth $1,906,482,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Netflix in the second quarter valued at $1,886,526,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations. Netflix beat consensus earnings estimates, reporting $0.87 per share versus $0.82 expected. Revenue of $12.87 billion was in line with forecasts and increased 11.9% year over year, while margins reportedly reached a record level. Netflix Just Posted a Record Margin
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains a strength. Analysts and investors note that Netflix’s margins have widened and that its subscription business continues to generate substantial economics, potentially providing support if management can improve engagement and sustain international growth. Netflix: Not Winning On Attention, Winning On Economics
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are watching international revenue and the advertising business. International markets remain important to Netflix’s growth outlook, while the company’s advertising strategy could become a larger contributor over time. However, recent commentary indicates the 2026 advertising-revenue outlook was reduced to approximately $2 billion. International Revenue Trends
• Negative Sentiment: Forward guidance disappointed. Netflix’s fourth-quarter revenue outlook came in below Wall Street expectations, implying roughly 13% annual revenue growth. The slower pace overshadowed the Q3 earnings beat and led UBS, Piper Sandler and Rosenblatt to reduce price targets. Netflix Is Making Big Changes
• Negative Sentiment: Engagement and market-share concerns are driving the selling. Reports that viewers are watching less, particularly in the mature U.S. market, have raised concerns about competition from short-form video, artificial intelligence and rival streaming services. Analysts also point to Netflix losing share of total watch hours despite strong financial results. Why Wall Street Is Worried
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst sentiment has weakened. Needham downgraded Netflix to Hold and Wolfe Research lowered its rating to Peer Perform from Outperform. The downgrades reinforce concerns that the stock’s previous valuation assumed stronger growth than the company is currently delivering. Needham Downgrades Netflix

About Netflix

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming services. Its platform offers a broad selection of television series, films, documentaries, stand-up specials and other programming, including content produced by Netflix and licensed from third-party studios and creators.

The company also develops and distributes original productions under the Netflix brand and has expanded into additional entertainment offerings, including mobile and cloud-based games in select markets and live programming.