Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Down 1.8% – Here’s Why

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 23rd, 2026

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX – Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $65.78 and last traded at $65.85. Approximately 35,501,575 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 42,658,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.05.

Key Stories Impacting Netflix

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

Positive Sentiment: Netflix delivered strong third-quarter results, with revenue of approximately $12.9 billion, year-over-year growth of about 12%, and earnings above consensus estimates. Operating margin reached 34.6%, while free cash flow margin was 22.9%. Can Netflix Hold Margin Gains as Content Spending Keeps Growing?
Positive Sentiment: Some investors view the sell-off as a potential long-term opportunity. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest bought additional Netflix shares, and Bill Ackman said he expects annualized returns above 20% after reentering the stock. Netflix also continues systematic share buybacks, which could support per-share earnings over time. Cathie Wood Just Bought Netflix Stock
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is divided. TD Cowen maintained a Buy view, while Citizens JMP reiterated Market Perform. Other firms, including UBS, Guggenheim, JPMorgan and Needham, lowered targets or adopted more cautious ratings, reflecting uncertainty rather than a unanimous bearish outlook. Netflix Earns Buy Rating from TD Cowen
Negative Sentiment: The main catalyst for the decline was disappointing fourth-quarter guidance. Netflix forecast EPS of $0.67 versus expectations of $0.73 and revenue of $13.4 billion versus $13.5 billion. Full-year revenue guidance was also slightly below consensus.
Negative Sentiment: Netflix reduced its 2026 advertising-revenue forecast from roughly $3 billion to $2.7 billion. Investors are concerned that the advertising business is developing more slowly than expected, while rising content costs and lower cash-flow guidance may limit future margin expansion. Netflix Cut Its 2026 Ad Forecast
Negative Sentiment: Additional concerns include decelerating revenue growth, weaker viewing engagement and planned layoffs at Netflix’s Bay Area headquarters. The combination has pushed the stock near a 52-week low and prompted analysts to reduce fair-value estimates and price targets. Netflix Fair Value Falls After Cautious Analyst Revisions

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NFLX shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Netflix from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Sunday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Netflix and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Netflix in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.59.

Read Our Latest Research Report on NFLX

Netflix Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $74.52 and its 200 day moving average is $79.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.62.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $12.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.87 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 29.69% and a return on equity of 42.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, CFO Spencer Neumann sold 9,248 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction 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 $5,592,316.73. The trade was a 11.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gregory Peters sold 27,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.54, for a total value of $2,008,524.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 120,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,893,265.74. This represents a 18.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 179,045 shares of company stock worth $13,132,194. 1.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Netflix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Netflix during the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,902,221,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 4.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 180,129,582 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $12,861,252,000 after purchasing an additional 8,474,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 4.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,942,812 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $5,571,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376,349 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Netflix during the second quarter worth approximately $1,906,482,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Netflix during the second quarter worth approximately $1,886,526,000. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Netflix Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Netflix, Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming services. Its platform offers a broad selection of television series, films, documentaries, stand-up specials and other programming, including content produced by Netflix and licensed from third-party studios and creators.

The company also develops and distributes original productions under the Netflix brand and has expanded into additional entertainment offerings, including mobile and cloud-based games in select markets and live programming.