Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Invests $29.23 Million in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Key Points

• Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake of 311,771 shares in Netflix valued at approximately $29.23 million during Q4, making Netflix about 8.3% of the firm's holdings and its third-largest position.
• Institutional ownership is high at 80.93% with major increases from Vanguard, State Street, Nordea, Assenagon and a new stake by Norges Bank, and analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $114.35 target price.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — Reed Hastings sold 410,550 shares and insiders disposed of 1,520,133 shares (~$137.26 million) in the past three months, leaving insiders with about 1.37% ownership.

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 311,771 shares of the Internet television network's stock, valued at approximately $29,232,000. Netflix makes up about 8.3% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Netflix by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,521,322 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $46,183,983,000 after acquiring an additional 142,238 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Netflix by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,444,013 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $23,359,801,000 after purchasing an additional 360,604 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Netflix by 886.6% in 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Netflix by 983.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,234,314 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $584,529,000 after purchasing an additional 5,658,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix during the second quarter worth about $7,929,645,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi resumes coverage, reiterates Buy and $115 price objective — Citi points to improving profitability, pricing power and enhanced capital returns as upside catalysts for Netflix. Citi Resumes Coverage of Netflix (NFLX) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Ad business momentum — reports highlight Netflix’s ad revenue surge ( ~$1.5B and estimates up to $3B in 2026) and its investment in an in‑house ad platform, which supports higher monetization per user and recurring revenue diversification. Netflix's Ad Revenue Surges to $1.5 Billion: Is the Stock a No-Brainer Buy Today With $2,000?
• Positive Sentiment: Live events and cultural hits driving engagement — Netflix streamed BTS’s Seoul concert (positioning it as a leader in live concert streaming) and launched a successful second season of "Culinary Class Wars," which drove restaurant bookings and demonstrates content’s real‑world economic and engagement impact. These signal subscriber engagement and event‑driven monetization upside. BTS Comeback Becomes Netflix's Biggest Live Bet Yet A Netflix cooking show is changing how people travel — and restaurants are seeing bookings jump 303%
• Negative Sentiment: Price sensitivity among consumers — a report on Canadian streaming behavior shows cash‑strapped consumers gravitating to lower‑cost ad tiers, which could limit ARPU upside in pressured markets even as ad revenue grows. NFLX, DIS, PSKY: New ‘Couch Potato Report’ Shows Cash-Strapped Canadians Choose to Stream with Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Arete Research raised shares of Netflix from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (down from $112.00) on shares of Netflix in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $98.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus lowered their price target on Netflix from $141.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Pivotal Research dropped their price target on Netflix from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.35.

Netflix Trading Up 1.7%

NFLX opened at $93.38 on Tuesday. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.01 and a 1-year high of $134.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $86.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.49.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. Analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, Director Reed Hastings sold 410,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.01, for a total value of $39,827,455.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $382,219.40. This represents a 99.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 28,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,777,110.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 73,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,157,339. The trade was a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,520,133 shares of company stock valued at $137,259,786 in the last three months. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Netflix

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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