Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 297,068 shares of the Internet television network’s stock, valued at approximately $21,211,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Netflix by 912.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 351,493,659 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Netflix by 927.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 176,780,995 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $16,574,986,000 after purchasing an additional 159,578,053 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $9,305,336,000 after purchasing an additional 89,558,684 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 859.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 89,341,444 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $8,376,656,000 after purchasing an additional 80,025,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Netflix by 903.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 85,349,973 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $8,002,414,000 after purchasing an additional 76,840,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard N. Barton sold 2,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $162,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,474.60. The trade was a 89.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David A. Hyman sold 5,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.85, for a total value of $416,920.55. Following the sale, the insider owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,027,885. The trade was a 1.78% 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. Insiders sold a total of 600,295 shares of company stock valued at $49,056,671 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NFLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Netflix from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Netflix from $118.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Erste Group Bank cut Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $80.00 price target on Netflix and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $107.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Netflix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.48.

Key Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a new Netflix position of approximately 3.15 million shares, representing about 4.9% of the fund’s portfolio. Ackman said Netflix has effectively “won the streaming wars,” renewing investor interest after the stock’s major sell-off. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investing commentators point to Netflix’s resilient fundamentals: second-quarter revenue rose 13.4% year over year to $12.6 billion, earnings per share slightly exceeded estimates, and profitability remained strong. The advertising business, expanding margins and a valuation viewed as reasonable relative to growth are supporting the bullish case. Zacks article
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix’s continued push into live sports—including an MLB “Field of Dreams” game—and the extension of its Seinfeld agreement could strengthen engagement, advertising opportunities and content retention. MLB live sports article
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning is mixed: some large investors added shares while others reduced holdings. Analysts’ reported price targets remain above the current market level, but investors still must weigh valuation and slowing growth expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Netflix closed its Hollywood-based Night School gaming studio and plans to close Helsinki-based Moonloot. The closures may improve focus and reduce costs, but they also raise questions about the company’s gaming strategy and ability to expand beyond streaming. Los Angeles Times article
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider trading shows 30 Netflix open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months. While such sales may reflect compensation or diversification, the one-sided pattern can weigh on sentiment and contrasts with Ackman’s new bullish position. Quiver Quantitative article

Netflix Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NFLX opened at $78.16 on Friday. Netflix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.08 and a 1 year high of $126.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $325.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.52.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The Internet television network reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.58 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 28.22% and a return on equity of 40.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.59 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.