Netflix, Inc. $NFLX Shares Bought by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Key Points

• Salem Investment Counselors raised its Netflix stake by 854.7% in Q4 to 28,231 shares worth about $2.65 million, with institutional investors now owning roughly 80.93% of the stock.
• Netflix’s ad business and live-event content are boosting monetization and engagement—ad revenue is about $1.5B today with estimates up to $3B by 2026, and events like BTS concerts and hit shows are driving viewer activity.
• Corporate insiders have been selling heavily (Reed Hastings sold 410,550 shares for ~$39.8M and insiders sold ~1.52M shares worth ~$137.3M last quarter), while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $114.35.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 854.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,231 shares of the Internet television network's stock after purchasing an additional 25,274 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Netflix were worth $2,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NFLX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 142,238 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1,379.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 25,512 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $2,392,000 after buying an additional 23,788 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Capital Markets Europe S.A. increased its position in shares of Netflix by 171.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Capital Markets Europe S.A. now owns 66,503 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $79,732,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Netflix by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 302,182 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $362,292,000 after acquiring an additional 18,837 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in Netflix by 2,184.8% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 85,727 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $7,841,000 after acquiring an additional 81,975 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Key Stories 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NFLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Loop Capital set a $104.00 price target on Netflix in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Netflix in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp set a $110.00 target price on Netflix and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Netflix from $149.00 to $125.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Reed Hastings sold 410,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,940 shares in the company, valued at $382,219.40. The trade was a 99.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David A. Hyman sold 5,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.06, for a total transaction of $464,230.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 316,100 shares in the company, valued at $25,623,066. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,520,133 shares of company stock worth $137,259,786. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NFLX stock opened at $93.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $394.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.97 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 43.26% and a net margin of 24.30%.Netflix's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current year.

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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