Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares shot up 2.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $78.85 and last traded at $78.67. 30,718,772 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 48,772,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts reaffirm bullish views — Wedbush kept an “outperform” rating with a $115 price target and Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed its buy stance, giving investors a confidence boost that the long-term story remains intact. Wedbush reaffirmation / Benzinga Sanford C. Bernstein Reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Large insider/institutional buying: reports that billionaire Philippe Laffont bought ~10.2M Netflix shares (after trimming Nvidia) signals conviction from a respected investor, which can attract momentum buyers. Blockonomi: Laffont buys Netflix
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and experts say Netflix can thrive even if it doesn’t land Warner Bros. Discovery — reducing binary takeover risk and reassuring investors worried about overpaying or integration risk. Investopedia: Experts on Netflix without WBD
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix says it has the firepower to increase its bid if needed — this underscores financial flexibility (positive) but also highlights the potential for a costly bidding war (negative), leaving valuation concerns unresolved. Reuters: Netflix can raise offer
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix pushed a regulatory/antitrust case in an analyst briefing (deploying senior legal and affairs executives) arguing its deal has a cleaner path than Paramount’s rival bid — useful for investor perception but not decisive. Proactive Investors: Netflix briefing on regulatory path
• Negative Sentiment: Paramount/Skydance cleared a major U.S. antitrust milestone, strengthening a competing $108B bid and making a protracted auction and higher price more likely — a direct threat to Netflix’s deal economics and strategy. FT: Paramount clears antitrust hurdle
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile criticism (e.g., James Cameron) and public letters to lawmakers spotlight antitrust and cultural concerns about a Netflix–WBD tie-up, which could complicate approvals and raise reputational risk. FastCompany: James Cameron criticism

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NFLX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $98.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. KeyCorp set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Netflix and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $104.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Netflix from a “sell” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Cfra lowered Netflix from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.08.

Netflix Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.89. The firm has a market cap of $332.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Netflix had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 43.26%. The firm 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 company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total value of $2,273,450.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $10,166,933.60. The trade was a 18.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Reed Hastings sold 390,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.63, for a total transaction of $32,696,821.10. Following the sale, the director owned 3,940 shares in the company, valued at $329,502.20. The trade was a 99.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,399,163 shares of company stock worth $129,899,103. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 351,493,659 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Netflix by 927.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,780,995 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $16,574,986,000 after buying an additional 159,578,053 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 892.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Netflix by 859.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,341,444 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,376,656,000 after buying an additional 80,025,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Netflix by 685.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 86,058,878 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $8,068,882,000 after buying an additional 75,107,069 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.