Netflix, Inc. $NFLX Stock: Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Grows Holdings

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA increased its position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 544.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,203 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,054 shares during the period. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Netflix were worth $2,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Netflix in the second quarter valued at approximately $24,902,221,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Netflix by 4.9% in the second 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 increased its stake in shares of Netflix by 4.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 2nd quarter worth $1,906,482,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Netflix during the 2nd quarter worth $1,886,526,000. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Key Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Netflix reported third-quarter EPS of $0.87, ahead of the $0.82 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $12.87 billion. Operating margin rose to 34.6%, supporting the argument that the core streaming business remains highly profitable. Can Netflix Stock Hold Margin Gains as Content Spending Keeps Growing?
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term bulls argue that Netflix’s profitability, systematic share repurchases, local-language content, and continued subscriber retention could create meaningful upside after the sell-off. Bill Ackman has also returned to the stock and expects annualized returns above 20%. Bill Ackman Lost $400 Million on Netflix
• Positive Sentiment: Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood bought 18,000 Netflix shares, signaling that some growth-oriented investors view the two-year-low valuation as an opportunity. Cathie Wood Just Bought Netflix Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix is reportedly planning layoffs at its Bay Area headquarters. The cuts could reduce costs, but they also raise questions about operating priorities and employee productivity. Netflix Stock Slips as Layoffs Hit Bay Area Headquarters
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount Skydance’s completed merger highlights intensifying competition for scale and content across the entertainment industry, potentially increasing pressure on Netflix to sustain its content advantage. Could Skydance Be Bigger Than Disney?
• Negative Sentiment: Management reduced its 2026 advertising-revenue outlook to approximately $2.7 billion from about $3 billion. Softer ad growth undermines a major part of Netflix’s expansion thesis and overshadowed the earnings beat. Netflix Cut Its 2026 Ad Forecast by $300 Million
• Negative Sentiment: Disappointing fourth-quarter revenue guidance and decelerating growth have led investors to discount the strong quarterly results. Netflix’s reduced 2026 free-cash-flow outlook is another concern as content spending continues to rise. Netflix Has Lower FCF Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts lowered their price targets or ratings after the report. One fair-value estimate fell from $92.62 to $86.24, while UBS, Guggenheim, and Needham adopted more cautious views. Netflix Stock Fair Value Falls After Cautious Q3 Analyst Revisions
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate viewing time is declining even though subscribers are staying, suggesting weaker engagement. YouTube and lower-cost streaming alternatives may also be contributing to slower revenue growth. Netflix Is Losing Viewers

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In other Netflix news, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 105,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.03, for a total transaction of $7,730,225.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 206,266 shares in the company, valued at $15,063,605.98. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Richard N. Barton sold 2,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $162,216.00. Following the sale, the director owned 246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,474.60. This trade represents a 89.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 179,045 shares of company stock worth $13,132,194. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NFLX. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Wednesday. Itau BBA Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $151.40 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price (down from $135.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, October 16th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Netflix from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Netflix presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.59.

Netflix Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:NFLX opened at $65.85 on Friday. Netflix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.10 and a 12 month high of $116.73. The firm has a market cap of $270.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.27 and its 200-day moving average is $79.64.

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

Netflix Company Profile

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.