NEW YORK, July 1, 2026, 19:01 EDT
- Netflix, Inc. NASDAQ:NFLX gained 3.91% to end at $74.19. Shares last traded at $74.245 in after-hours action at 7:01 p.m. EDT.
- The stock outperformed the Nasdaq 100 by 5.45 points while the index lost 1.54% for the day.
- Co-founder Reed Hastings filed a Form 144 to sell 321,880 shares tied to options, representing around 0.7% of Wednesday’s trading volume.
- Netflix’s next event is its Q2 results and a management video interview planned for July 16.
Netflix, Inc. NASDAQ:NFLX stood out for bulls on Wednesday, climbing 3.91% to $74.19. The move bucked a rough day for big tech: Nasdaq Composite lost 0.66%, Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.54%. Volume was 43.73 million shares, about 106% of the 65-day average. Netflix last traded at $74.245 in after-hours as of 7:01 p.m. EDT.
| Wednesday tape | Close/level | Move | NFLX spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | $74.19 | up 3.91% | — |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,040.03 | down 0.66% | +4.57 pts |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,809.13 | fell 1.54% | +5.45 pts |
| S&P 500 | 7,483.23 | off 0.22% | +4.13 pts |
| Media/Entertainment | — | lost 1.59% | +5.50 pts |
The spread stands out as Netflix surged without help from a wider tech rally. MarketWatch data had the Nasdaq 100 off 1.54%, the S&P 500 down 0.22%, and the media and entertainment peer group losing 1.59%. Netflix was up nearly 4%.
A Form 144 filed Wednesday with SEC EDGAR and posted by StockTitan said Hastings planned to unload 321,880 shares via an option exercise, giving the total market value at $23.68 million. That amount was under 1% of the day’s trading volume, so the insider sale wasn’t big compared with the full session turnover.
The notice cited earlier Hastings sales of 386,700 shares on June 1 for $33.24 million, and 407,550 shares on May 1 for $37.96 million. With Wednesday’s block added, the total comes to 1.12 million shares and roughly $94.9 million in disclosed value, making up about 2.6% of Wednesday’s volume. The filing said the seller was not aware of any material negative information about Netflix that hadn’t been made public.
| Recent NFLX tape | Close | Day move | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 25 | $70.90 | -1.31% | Hit a low of $70.86 |
| June 26 | $73.81 | +4.10% | Bounced higher |
| June 30 | $71.40 | -3.23% | Pulled back before bounce |
| July 1 | $74.19 | +3.91% | Topped Nasdaq 100 by 5.45 pts |
The chart isn’t looking much better. Despite Wednesday’s move, MarketWatch has Netflix off 20.87% so far this year and down 42.81% from a year ago. The 52-week range is $70.86 to $130.23.
That’s why the Hastings filing works better as a check on liquidity, not as a bearish sign. Shares took the filing in stride and traded higher with volume above the average. The stock also pushed up near the top of its past four-session range after hitting a 52-week low last week.
Netflix put out its Q2 targets: $12.574 billion in revenue, $4.105 billion operating income, and a 32.6% operating margin. That’s down from 34.1% last year, since content amortization is heavier in the first half. Revenue guidance for 2026 stays at $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion, margin goal still 31.5%.
Netflix co-CEO Gregory Peters told analysts back in April the U.S. price hike had been planned for a while. He also said the company’s 2026 plan includes around $3 billion in ad revenue and that the advertiser count rose over 70% in 2025, topping 4,000 advertisers.
Netflix plans to release its second-quarter results on July 16, around 1:01 p.m. Pacific. The company will follow up with a live video interview at 1:45 p.m. featuring co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, CFO Spence Neumann, and finance and IR chief Spencer Wang.
Traders have just one normal U.S. stock session before the holiday break. Nasdaq’s posted 2026 calendar shows U.S. stock and options markets will shut on Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday.
