Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Down 3.1% – Here’s Why

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s share price traded down 3.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $79.45 and last traded at $79.6790. 40,506,587 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average session volume of 50,550,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.21.

Netflix News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bullish takeaways: analysts and columnists argue recent weakness creates a long-term buying opportunity based on Netflix’s strong margins, content pipeline and subscriber economics. 3 Reasons to Buy Netflix Stock Now
• Positive Sentiment: Buy-the-dip narratives gaining traction: several pieces weigh whether the pullback is a chance to add exposure, emphasizing Netflix’s balance sheet and earnings power despite short-term deal risk. Netflix Stock Is Down 15%. Should You Buy the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix is publicly downplaying regulatory risk from the DOJ probe into its proposed Warner Bros. deal, calling scrutiny “ordinary course of business” — a calming tone but it doesn’t remove the substantive antitrust risk. Netflix exec calls DOJ probe into $82.7B Warner Bros deal ‘ordinary course business’
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/media context: unrelated industry headlines (e.g., testimony in a social?media trial likening platform “addiction” to bingeing) are getting airtime but have limited direct impact on Netflix’s near?term fundamentals. Instagram chief likens social media addiction to being hooked on a Netflix show in trial testimony
• Negative Sentiment: Paramount substantially sweetened its hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery by adding a ticking fee and committing to cover the $2.8B breakup/termination cost — a direct threat to Netflix’s signed deal and the primary catalyst pressuring NFLX. Paramount sweetens Warner Bros bid with offer to pay Netflix break-up cost, other fees
• Negative Sentiment: Activist pressure: Ancora Capital has built a stake in Warner Bros. and is pushing the WBD board to engage with Paramount, signaling a meaningful chance the Netflix agreement could be supplanted or reopened. Ancora Capital builds stake in Warner Bros, plans to oppose Netflix deal
• Negative Sentiment: Market structure: commentary and arbitrage coverage (MarketBeat/others) highlight that Paramount’s ticking?fee structure narrows the spread on WBD and increases the probability of a competing transaction — a clear negative for Netflix’s M&A thesis. Strategic Masterstroke: Paramount Adds a Ticking Fee to Warner Bros. Bid (NFLX)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Netflix CFO sold ~9,248 shares (disclosed SEC filing), which can be read negatively by some investors even if routine. SEC filing: CFO sells Netflix shares
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment shift & analyst caution: multiple outlets and analysts point to slowing growth risks, deal uncertainty and higher volatility — a backdrop that keeps downward pressure on the stock until deal outcome or clearer fundamentals emerge. Is Netflix’s 10% Dip a Buying Opportunity or a Warning Sign?

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $120.00 target price on Netflix in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Netflix from $150.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citic Securities cut their target price on shares of Netflix from $109.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Cfra lowered shares of Netflix from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $104.00 price target on Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.08.

Netflix Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $336.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Netflix had a return on equity of 43.26% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $12.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 9,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.27, for a total transaction of $751,584.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,787 shares in the company, valued at $5,996,669.49. The trade was a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bradford L. Smith sold 31,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total transaction of $2,824,859.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 79,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,081,253.40. The trade was a 28.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,362,988 shares of company stock valued at $126,902,168 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 912.5% during 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 buying an additional 351,493,659 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 892.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 99,598,678 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $9,305,336,000 after buying an additional 89,558,684 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised 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 valued at $8,376,656,000 after purchasing an additional 80,025,890 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Netflix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,803,248,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Netflix by 800.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 42,367,807 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $3,972,406,000 after acquiring an additional 37,661,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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.