New York, Jan 26, 2026, 12:52 EST — Regular session
- Shares of Netflix slipped roughly 0.1% to $86.01 around midday despite an analyst upgrade.
- Phillip Securities upgraded its rating to “Accumulate” and bumped the price target up to $100.
- Deal financing and the next moves in Netflix’s proposed Warner Bros transaction continue to hold investors’ attention.
Netflix Inc shares slipped 0.1% to $86.01 by 12:37 p.m. EST on Monday, pulling back slightly following an early rally fueled by an analyst upgrade. The stock swung between $85.39 and $87.28 after starting the day at $86.88.
The muted move follows weeks of choppy trading, turning Netflix into a daily debate over risk appetite: how much deal leverage investors can stomach and what value they assign to advertising growth. The upgrade provides one answer, but leaves many questions unresolved.
Timing is everything now. Netflix needs to hold onto subscribers, ramp up its ad revenue, and maintain high content spending—all while investors wonder just how much strain the balance sheet can take if the company’s largest acquisition moves forward.
U.S. stocks edged higher across the board, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF rising roughly 0.6% and the Invesco QQQ Trust climbing about 0.7%. Netflix, however, trailed despite a few buyers coming in.
Phillip Securities Research analyst Helena Wang bumped Netflix from “Sell” to “Accumulate” and lifted her price target to $100 from $95 in a Jan. 26 note. She highlighted subscriber gains and pricing power, noting ad revenue jumped 2.5 times year-over-year. Wang did warn, though, that “volatility is expected due to the Warner Bros. deal.” (POEMS)
On Jan. 20, Netflix shifted to an all-cash bid for Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming assets, offering $27.75 per share—putting the deal’s value around $82.7 billion, according to a regulatory filing. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the new structure “enable[s] an expedited timeline to a stockholder vote and provide[s] greater financial certainty.” Netflix is moving quickly to fend off a competing offer from Paramount Skydance. (Reuters)
Executives found themselves defending the move after Netflix’s bid for Warner signaled a clear shift from its usual “build, don’t buy” strategy. Co-CEO Greg Peters told investors they hadn’t planned to bid when due diligence started but added, “When we got into the hood, there were several things we saw that were just really exciting.” (Reuters)
Netflix’s latest quarter failed to settle the ongoing debate. The company posted $12.1 billion in fourth-quarter revenue and reported paid subscribers climbed to 325 million. Its revenue forecast for 2026 came in at $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion, with the bottom end just shy of estimates compiled by LSEG, Reuters revealed. CFO Spencer Neumann said advertising revenue is expected to roughly double to about $3 billion. Netflix also announced a pause on share buybacks and plans to rely on a bridge loan—short-term financing arranged ahead of longer-term funding—to back its Warner offer. “Historically, Netflix has not shied away from doing what’s right for long-term growth,” noted Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. (Reuters)
The competitive stakes are clear. Should Netflix acquire Warner’s streaming and studio assets, HBO Max would join forces with Netflix, intensifying the battle for viewers who are already managing several subscriptions—and facing a shrinking ad market.
The downside is clear-cut. A higher counterbid might pressure Netflix to improve its offer, raising leverage and squeezing budget for buybacks and new content. Regulators could drag out the process or require concessions, leaving the stock mired in uncertainty.
Traders are focused on the upcoming Warner filing, any fresh moves from Paramount, and clearer signs on how Netflix will finance the deal without stalling its content output. Investors are marking the expected shareholder vote in April as their next key date.
