Sapient Capital LLC Sells 286,838 Shares of Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Sapient Capital LLC cut its holdings in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 176,024 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after selling 286,838 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Netflix were worth $12,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Netflix in the second quarter valued at approximately $24,902,221,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Netflix by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 180,129,582 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $12,861,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,474,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Netflix by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,942,812 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $5,571,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376,349 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Netflix by 835.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,462,696 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $4,075,062,000 after purchasing an additional 38,818,947 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Netflix in the 2nd quarter worth $1,906,482,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. deal exit removes major risk: Paramount reportedly paid Netflix approximately $2.8 billion to abandon its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The payment provides a substantial cash benefit while allowing Netflix to avoid the financing and integration risks of a large acquisition. Paramount paid Netflix $2.8 billion to walk away from its Warner Bros. deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see value after the selloff: A Q3 preview describes Netflix as attractively priced, while Morgan Stanley maintained an “overweight” rating. Although it lowered its price target from $83 to $80, the revised target still implies meaningful upside from recent levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Potential growth beyond subscriptions: Commentary points to an underappreciated business segment—likely including advertising and other newer initiatives—as a possible future growth engine. Advertising revenue is expected to expand substantially, helping offset slower core subscriber and revenue growth. Netflix’s next growth engine could surprise investors
• Positive Sentiment: New content could support engagement: Netflix released a trailer for an eight-episode series about the FTX collapse, scheduled for November 19. The project is not a major financial catalyst by itself, but high-profile original programming can support viewing hours and subscriber retention.
• Neutral Sentiment: Tax-credit proposal offers a possible cost benefit: Proposed U.S. legislation could provide a 20%–30% tax credit for qualifying domestic film and television production. Netflix could benefit if the bill becomes law, but the legislation is not enacted and would apply only to future productions.
• Negative Sentiment: Growth is moderating: Second-quarter revenue rose 13.4% to $12.56 billion, while management expects approximately 11.7% growth in the third quarter. Investors are also concerned about rising content costs and Netflix’s valuation relative to its slower expected growth.
• Negative Sentiment: A larger rival is emerging: The completed Paramount-Warner Bros. combination creates a media group with substantial content assets and annual revenue exceeding Netflix’s, increasing competitive pressure. Its roughly $80 billion debt load may limit spending flexibility, but integration could eventually strengthen the rival’s streaming offering.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David A. Hyman sold 5,723 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.85, for a total transaction of $416,920.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 316,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,027,885. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Spencer Neumann sold 9,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.79, for a total value of $700,905.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,592,316.73. This trade represents a 11.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,045 shares of company stock worth $13,132,194. Corporate insiders own 1.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NFLX. Pivotal Research dropped their price target on Netflix from $96.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. HSBC lowered Netflix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $96.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $85.00 price target on Netflix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. China Intl Cap upgraded shares of Netflix to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Itau BBA Securities cut their price objective on shares of Netflix from $151.40 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.70.

Netflix Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ NFLX traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.57. The company had a trading volume of 46,027,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,517,398. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.08 and a 1-year high of $124.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.48 and its 200-day moving average is $81.49.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The Internet television network reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. Netflix had a net margin of 28.22% and a return on equity of 40.02%. The business had revenue of $12.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Netflix Profile

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a global entertainment company that operates a subscription-based streaming service. It offers a broad range of television series, films, documentaries, and other programming, including original productions developed under the Netflix brand and licensed content from third-party studios.

The company also provides advertising-supported viewing options in some markets and has expanded into related entertainment categories, including mobile and cloud-based games, live programming, and consumer products associated with selected titles.