Netflix’s (NFLX) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Wedbush

Wedbush reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $115.00 price objective on the Internet television network’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citic Securities decreased their price target on shares of Netflix from $109.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Netflix from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. President Capital upgraded Netflix from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Pivotal Research dropped their price target on Netflix from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-three have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $116.08.

Netflix Price Performance

Netflix stock opened at $78.67 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.62. Netflix has a 1 year low of $75.23 and a 1 year high of $134.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $332.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted 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 company had revenue of $12.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.97 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 43.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Netflix will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Reed Hastings sold 390,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.63, for a total value of $32,696,821.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,502.20. This represents a 99.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total transaction of $2,273,450.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,166,933.60. The trade was a 18.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,399,163 shares of company stock worth $129,899,103 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 351,493,659 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $9,305,336,000 after purchasing an additional 89,558,684 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position 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 worth $8,376,656,000 after purchasing an additional 80,025,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 76,840,318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

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

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.