Whittier Trust Co. Raises Stake in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. increased its Netflix stake by 920.7% in Q4 to 40,132 shares (about $3.64M), and several other institutions also materially boosted positions, leaving institutional ownership near 80.93%.
• Netflix beat Q1 estimates (revenue $12.25B; EPS $1.23 vs $0.76) but issued weak Q2 guidance and announced Reed Hastings will not stand for re‑election, catalysts that contributed to an approximately 9.7% stock drop.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target of $114.58 amid mixed rating changes, while insiders have sold roughly 1.49M shares (~$136M) in the past 90 days, a potential caution for investors.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 920.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,132 shares of the Internet television network's stock after buying an additional 36,200 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Netflix were worth $3,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $46,183,983,000 after buying an additional 142,238 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Netflix by 837.2% during the fourth quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 111,380 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $10,443,000 after buying an additional 99,496 shares in the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in Netflix by 1,021.9% during the fourth quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd now owns 9,031 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 8,226 shares in the last quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Netflix by 991.3% during the fourth quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,229 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $3,866,000 after buying an additional 37,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Netflix from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Moffett Nathanson lifted their price target on shares of Netflix from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $107.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $108.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim set a $120.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Netflix has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $114.58.

Trending Headlines about Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — revenue of $12.25B and GAAP EPS of $1.23 topped consensus, driven by subscription pricing, ad revenue growth and margin expansion; these fundamentals underpin many analyst “buy the dip” calls. Q1 results detail
• Positive Sentiment: Longer‑term growth levers remain: management emphasized live sports discussions (NFL interest) and continued ad‑tier expansion; analysts who stayed bullish point to strong cash generation and ad upside. Live sports / NFL rights
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/tech roadmap: Netflix plans a TikTok‑style vertical feed and broader AI use for recommendations — positive for engagement but not an immediate revenue catalyst. TechCrunch: vertical feed
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance disappointed — the company issued Q2 EPS/revenue guidance below consensus (management cited slower near‑term growth and margin pressure), which shifted focus from the quarter to the outlook and trimmed near‑term expectations. Reuters: downbeat Q2 forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change spooked the market — Reed Hastings announced he will not stand for re‑election to the board, prompting concern about governance continuity amid a strategic pivot after the failed Warner Bros. bid. That exit amplified the selloff. Deadline: Hastings exit
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst reaction and price‑target moves were mixed-to-negative — several firms trimmed targets or moved to neutral/hold citing valuation and near‑term growth deceleration, increasing downward pressure. Invezz: analyst reactions

Netflix Trading Down 9.7%

NASDAQ NFLX opened at $97.31 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $92.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.55. Netflix, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.01 and a 52 week 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 cap of $410.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.67.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $12.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.17 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 28.52% and a return on equity of 43.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.61 earnings per share. Netflix has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.780 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In related news, insider David A. Hyman sold 5,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.06, for a total value of $464,230.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 316,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cletus R. Willems sold 3,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.67, for a total transaction of $259,253.12. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,487,794 shares of company stock valued at $136,255,772 over the last ninety days. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Netflix Company 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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