Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Insider Selling

21 Jan 2026, 14:40 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $81.53 and last traded at $82.5810, with a volume of 7963215 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.26.

Specifically, insider David A. Hyman sold 23,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.11, for a total transaction of $2,065,210.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,851,571. The trade was a 6.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bradford L. Smith sold 31,790 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.86, for a total value of $2,824,859.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 79,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,081,253.40. This trade represents a 28.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NFLX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $129.50 target price (up from $128.00) on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Netflix in a report on Friday, January 16th. KeyCorp set a $110.00 target price on shares of Netflix and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research set a $95.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “positive” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Netflix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.52.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Netflix

Netflix News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and subscriber strength — Netflix reported EPS slightly above consensus and revenue roughly in line while topping ~325M paid subscribers, showing the core streaming business still growing. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Ad revenue momentum — Management said advertising revenue exceeded ~$1.5B in 2025, supporting a diversified monetization path beyond subscriptions. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: All‑cash WBD amendment — Netflix converted its WBD bid to an all‑cash structure (same headline price), which can speed shareholder voting and removes stock‑contingent risk, but concentrates cash needs on Netflix. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views mixed with lowered targets — Several firms kept Buy/Overweight ratings but trimmed price targets, reflecting confidence in long‑term fundamentals alongside deal and margin uncertainty. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Disappointing near‑term guidance — Q1 EPS guidance came in below many Street forecasts, which triggered selling despite the quarter’s beat. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Share‑buyback paused to fund WBD — Management paused repurchases to conserve cash for the Warner transaction, removing a shareholder‑friendly use of cash and raising near‑term return concerns. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Higher content spend & margin pressure — Netflix plans to increase program spending (~10% in 2026), which could compress near‑term margins as it pushes growth and integration of WBD assets. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Capital structure and insider activity concerns — Reports of additional debt financing for the WBD bid and recent insider sales added to investor wariness, amplified by broader market risk‑off headlines. Article Title • Insider Trade

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $349.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.22.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $12.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.97 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 41.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.27 EPS. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Netflix

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BG Investment Services Inc. bought a new position in Netflix in the 2nd quarter valued at $338,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 1,495 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Netflix during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $398,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Netflix by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 57,951 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $77,604,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in Netflix by 71.1% during the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 234,831 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $314,469,000 after purchasing an additional 97,622 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Netflix

(Get Free Report)

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.