National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Key Points

• National Pension Service massively increased its Netflix position in Q4, boosting its stake by 910.6% to 9.37 million shares worth about $878.7 million.
• Other large institutions also added heavily to Netflix, including Vanguard, Geode Capital Management, Baillie Gifford, Jennison Associates, and Legal & General, while institutional investors collectively own 80.93% of the company.
• Netflix shares were down 1.1% to $86.36, but the company recently reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $114.82.

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 910.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,372,071 shares of the Internet television network's stock after buying an additional 8,444,703 shares during the period. Netflix comprises 0.7% of National Pension Service's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. National Pension Service owned 0.22% of Netflix worth $878,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 boosted 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 in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in Netflix by 912.3% during 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 buying an additional 33,290,988 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Netflix by 639.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 34,871,951 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,269,594,000 after buying an additional 30,158,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Netflix by 916.1% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 26,522,252 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $2,486,726,000 after buying an additional 23,912,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Netflix Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ NFLX opened at $86.36 on Friday. Netflix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.01 and a 12-month high of $134.12. The company has a market capitalization of $363.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $93.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.43.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Netflix had a net margin of 28.52% and a return on equity of 40.92%. The company had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Netflix has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.780 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NFLX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Netflix and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Pivotal Research set a $96.00 target price on shares of Netflix and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Netflix in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, President Capital upped their price target on shares of Netflix from $133.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.82.

Trending Headlines about Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst-style pieces argue that Netflix’s ad business is becoming a major growth driver, with 2026 ad revenue projections around $3 billion and new formats, live events, and ad-tech tools expanding monetization. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish writeups say Netflix could be in the early stages of a comeback, citing upside from advertising scale and stronger cash generation, with one piece raising a 12-month target far above current levels. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Another bullish note says Netflix’s ad empire story is “too good to ignore,” highlighting the scalability of the ad tier, higher ARPU, and the potential for ad revenue to become a meaningful share of total sales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix is also getting support from reports tied to the AI/content-efficiency narrative, including a $600 million deal involving Ben Affleck’s AI company and claims that Netflix could save billions over time through production efficiencies. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix-related mentions in broader entertainment coverage, including a new “60 Minutes” head who previously worked with Netflix projects, are not likely to have a direct material impact on the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage still points out that NFLX has been trading well below its 52-week high and has had a difficult year, which keeps valuation concerns and skepticism alive. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 28,630 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $2,805,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 73,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,231,126. This represents a 27.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 27,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.97, for a total transaction of $2,402,636.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 284,804 shares in the company, valued at $25,054,207.88. The trade was a 8.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,365,509 shares of company stock valued at $129,675,743. 1.24% of the stock is 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.

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.