BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock Price

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) had its price objective cut by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $143.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the Internet television network’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 54.71% from the company’s current price.

NFLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Netflix from $142.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Piper Sandler restated a “positive” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a report on Wednesday. Itau BBA Securities initiated coverage on Netflix in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $151.40 price objective for the company. Finally, Cfra Research downgraded Netflix from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.89.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $87.26 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Netflix has a 12 month low of $82.11 and a 12 month high of $134.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $369.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.45 and a beta of 1.71.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The Internet television network reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $12.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.97 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 41.86%. The company’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.27 earnings per share. Netflix has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.760-0.760 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Netflix will post 24.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Reed Hastings sold 426,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.67, for a total transaction of $39,078,004.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $361,179.80. The trade was a 99.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David A. Hyman sold 314,620 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $34,603,166.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 316,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,765,942.40. This represents a 49.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,653,599 shares of company stock valued at $173,141,263. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Netflix

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

Key Netflix News

Here are the key news stories impacting Netflix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and subscriber milestone — Netflix reported Q4 revenue and EPS slightly ahead of Street estimates and said paid memberships topped ~325M, showing the core streaming business still growing. Reuters: Netflix beats revenue estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising momentum — Management said ad revenue topped roughly $1.5B in 2025, highlighting a material and growing non‑subscription revenue stream that supports longer‑term monetization. Deadline: Ad revenue update
• Neutral Sentiment: Warner Bros. deal amended to all‑cash — Netflix converted its WBD offer to an all‑cash structure (same headline price), which could speed shareholder approval and remove stock‑contingent risk — but it concentrates cash needs on Netflix. Reuters: All‑cash WBD offer
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely maintain buy/overweight views but trim targets — Several firms reiterated Buy ratings while lowering price targets, signaling confidence in fundamentals but acknowledging near‑term uncertainty from the WBD bid and margin pressure. TipRanks: Analyst notes
• Negative Sentiment: Disappointing near‑term guidance — Q1 EPS guidance came in below consensus, which triggered the after‑hours selloff despite the beat; investors are focused on short‑term profitability. Proactive: Guidance reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Share buyback paused to fund WBD bid — Netflix halted repurchases to preserve cash for the acquisition, removing a shareholder-friendly capital return and increasing perceived execution/cash risk. TalkMarkets: Buyback pause
• Negative Sentiment: Higher content spending and margin pressure — Netflix plans to raise program spending ~10% in 2026, which could compress near‑term margins even as it targets long‑term growth. Financial Post: Content spend
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and broader risk‑off — Recent insider share sales were disclosed and tech weakness/risk‑off sentiment amplified selling pressure around the earnings/guidance news. SEC: Insider sale filing

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.