Smith Salley Wealth Management Buys 23,304 Shares of Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Key Points

• Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its Netflix stake 908.5% in Q4 by buying 23,304 shares, bringing its holding to 25,869 shares valued at about $2.43 million, amid overall institutional ownership of roughly 80.93%.
• Significant insider selling has occurred recently — Reed Hastings sold 420,550 shares (~$40.16M) and the CFO sold 57,260 shares, with insiders offloading 1,487,794 shares worth $136.26M in the past three months (insiders now own 1.37%).
• Netflix beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.23 vs. $0.76) and shows strong free cash flow, but tepid Q2 guidance and some analyst downgrades pressured the stock; consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $114.73 target.

Smith Salley Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 908.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,869 shares of the Internet television network's stock after acquiring an additional 23,304 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings in Netflix were worth $2,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NFLX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Netflix by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $4,804,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 21.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,883,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 774 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Netflix by 12.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,115 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $2,832,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NFLX. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. Phillip Securities raised shares of Netflix from a "sell" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, January 26th. President Capital raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Netflix from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Evercore started coverage on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, February 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.73.

Key Headlines Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Solid fundamentals — Netflix reported robust Q1 profitability and large free cash flow, which many bulls point to as evidence of durable operating leverage and valuation support. Netflix Generates Massive FCF and FCF Margins - NFLX Price Targets Are Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying — Cathie Wood’s ARK purchased roughly $2.5M of NFLX shares after the earnings-led weakness, a vote of confidence from an active growth manager. ARK Invest Snaps Up Netflix (NFLX) After Earnings Drop While Dumping Crypto Holdings
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts still bullish — select firms reiterated buys or nudged targets higher on the long-term thesis (pricing power, ad tier growth). That provides counterbalance to the downgrades. Netflix's (NFLX) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at DZ Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Big investor conviction vs. market noise — Billionaire funds (e.g., Coatue) materially increased stakes before the pullback, highlighting a split between long-term conviction and short-term selling pressure. Netflix Stock Crashed 10% — But This Billionaire Loaded Up $1 Billion Before The Fall: Who's Right?
• Negative Sentiment: Tepid Q2 guidance triggered the selloff — Management’s forward guidance was below some expectations, prompting a sharp post-earnings decline as investors re-priced near-term growth risk. Now Streaming: Netflix falls after underwhelming Q2 guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and price-target cuts — Multiple shops have trimmed targets (examples include Rosenblatt, Bernstein, JPMorgan, Barclays), increasing selling pressure and lowering near-term expectations. Netflix NASDAQ: NFLX Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Consumer pushback and governance news — Online backlash over price increases and co‑founder Reed Hastings’ exit from the board add noise to subscriber sentiment and leadership continuity. Netflix Cancellations, Boycotts Buzz Online As Streaming Giant Enjoys Nearly $3 Billion Warner Bros. Windfall

Insider Activity at Netflix

In related news, Director Reed Hastings sold 420,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.49, for a total value of $40,158,319.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,940 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,230.60. This represents a 99.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 57,260 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.50, for a total value of $5,468,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 73,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,046,658.50. This trade represents a 43.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,487,794 shares of company stock worth $136,255,772. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Netflix Stock Performance

NFLX opened at $97.31 on Monday. Netflix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.01 and a 52-week high of $134.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $409.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $92.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.40.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The Internet television network reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $12.25 billion during 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%. Netflix's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.61 EPS. Netflix has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.780 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal 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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