Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 251,535 Shares of Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management boosted its Netflix stake by 1,050.7% in Q4, acquiring 251,535 shares to hold 275,474 shares worth about $25.83 million.
• Several other institutional buyers have increased positions and multiple analysts have raised price targets, citing the scaling ad-supported tier and potential margin expansion as catalysts ahead of Netflix's upcoming Q1 earnings.
• Meanwhile, company insiders have sold material stock (1.54 million shares valued at ~$141.1 million in the past 90 days), and options-market signals point to elevated short-term volatility risk after the earnings print.

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 1,050.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,474 shares of the Internet television network's stock after acquiring an additional 251,535 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Netflix were worth $25,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. First Financial Corp IN raised its position in Netflix by 900.0% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 270 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in Netflix by 885.2% during the fourth quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 266 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Netflix during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Netflix during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, MB Levis & Associates LLC raised its position in Netflix by 177.8% during the fourth quarter. MB Levis & Associates LLC now owns 300 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Netflix News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and price-target raises lift sentiment — Wedbush bumped its target and kept an Outperform rating, Morgan Stanley raised its target and maintained Overweight, and HSBC lifted its target while keeping a Buy. These moves point to growing confidence in Netflix’s revenue and margin outlook. Wedbush price-target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Ad-supported tier is scaling and lowering churn, which analysts say boosts advertiser confidence and monetization — a key driver for revenue upside and margin expansion. Ad-tier traction
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect stronger operating margins and more buybacks — one analyst notes Netflix could lift its 2026 operating-margin guide toward ~32% while sustaining mid-teens revenue growth, supporting higher EPS and potential share repurchases. Margin/ buyback outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: several high-profile funds increased Netflix positions after the Warner Bros. deal fell through, signaling conviction from big investors. That institutional demand is propping up the stock into earnings. Hedge funds adding
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst: Q1 earnings on April 16 is the immediate event — positive prints on ad revenue, pricing, or margins could extend the rally; a miss could reverse gains. Earnings catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/market commentary highlights Netflix’s steady revenue growth versus peers and frames the stock as a durable streaming leader; useful context but not immediate price drivers. Industry comparisons
• Negative Sentiment: Balance-sheet nuance: coverage points to roughly $7.4B in stock-option obligations that can act like hidden leverage — a reminder for investors watching capital allocation and net-debt metrics. Hidden option liability
• Negative Sentiment: Post-earnings volatility risk — options-market patterns suggest a “sawtooth” and potential for a sharp move after the print; that raises short-term risk even if fundamentals look sound. Options volatility risk

Netflix Stock Up 0.9%

NFLX opened at $103.02 on Friday. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.01 and a 1-year high of $134.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $89.88 and a 200-day moving average of $99.14.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $12.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Netflix's revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $98.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on Netflix in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $103.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $104.00 target price on Netflix in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Arete Research raised Netflix from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Netflix has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David A. Hyman sold 5,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.06, for a total value of $464,230.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 316,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,623,066. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total value of $2,273,450.88. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,543,023 shares of company stock valued at $141,145,842 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Netflix 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.

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