Advisors Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its Netflix stake by 801.6% in Q4 to 124,173 shares (worth $11.64M), and multiple large institutions including Vanguard and Baillie Gifford reported massive Q4 buys—institutional investors now own 80.93% of the company.
• Company insiders have been net sellers: CFO Spencer Neumann and CEO Gregory Peters sold large blocks, and insiders disposed of 1,487,794 shares worth $136.26M over the past three months, leaving insiders with 1.37% ownership.
• Netflix beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.23 vs. $0.76; revenue $12.25B) but issued weak Q2 guidance (0.78 EPS) amid churn concerns, while the board approved a $25 billion share buyback; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $114.53 price target.

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 801.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,173 shares of the Internet television network's stock after purchasing an additional 110,401 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Netflix were worth $11,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $36,567,805,000 after buying an additional 351,493,659 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in shares of Netflix by 912.3% in the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 36,940,035 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,463,498,000 after acquiring an additional 33,290,988 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 891.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 12,099,908 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,134,487,000 after purchasing an additional 10,879,276 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 886.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,667,997 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $902,798,000 after purchasing an additional 8,688,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Netflix by 430.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,738,241 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $631,777,000 after purchasing an additional 5,468,262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Netflix news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 28,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $2,805,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 73,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,231,126. This trade represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total value of $2,273,450.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,166,933.60. This represents a 18.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,487,794 shares of company stock worth $136,255,772. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $92.37 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $388.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $93.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.57. Netflix, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.01 and a 52 week high of $134.12.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The Internet television network reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.17 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 28.52% and a return on equity of 40.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.61 earnings per share. Netflix has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.780 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Netflix News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a $25 billion additional share repurchase authorization (no expiration), boosting capital returns and supporting the share price rally. Netflix announces $25 billion share buyback (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction: the buyback and messaging drove pre-market gains and helped stem the post-earnings selloff. Netflix authorizes fresh $25B buyback (MSN)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support: JPMorgan reaffirmed a Buy on NFLX, and Daiwa raised its price target, both reinforcing investor confidence after the drop. JPMorgan reaffirms Buy (AmericanBankingNews) Daiwa raises price target to $102 (MarketScreener)
• Positive Sentiment: Notable institutional interest — Cathie Wood continued buying shares, signaling conviction from some active growth managers. Cathie Wood keeps buying (Barchart)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry M&A backdrop: Warner Bros. shareholders approved a large Paramount Skydance acquisition — consolidation could reshape content economics and competitive dynamics, with mixed implications for Netflix (it was the losing bidder). Warner Bros shareholders approve deal (Yahoo Finance)
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic moves: reports Netflix is in talks to buy Los Angeles studio space — this would be a content-production play that supports long-term content pipeline but is not an immediate earnings driver. Netflix in talks to buy LA studio space (Yahoo Market Chatter)
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance item: Netflix’s board recommended “No” on two shareholder proposals tied to ideological content concerns — likely low short-term financial impact but could matter to activist investors. Board recommends No on proposals (Forbes)
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance and churn risk: management’s weak Q2 guidance after a Q1 beat signaled rising subscriber churn, which sparked the initial selloff and remains the primary near-term headwind for the stock. Buyback-and-chill strategy but guidance weak (The Daily Upside)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and market reaction: several pieces discuss the post-earnings selloff and questions about subscriber momentum and valuation — signaling continued volatility until membership trends stabilize. What is next after Q1 guidance selloff (Seeking Alpha)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Netflix from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Netflix in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Huber Research raised Netflix from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Netflix has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.53.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NFLX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.