Netflix (NFLX) Stock: Why Is Co-Founder Reed Hastings Selling $40M in Shares?

TLDR

• Netflix co-founder and board chair Reed Hastings sold $40.1M in NFLX stock on April 1, 2026
• The sale covered 393,950 shares at prices between $95.02 and $96.66
• On the same day, Hastings exercised options to buy 420,550 shares at just $9.44 each
• Hastings also sold ~$39M in NFLX stock on March 2, continuing a pattern of steady selling this year
• 41 Wall Street analysts hold a consensus Strong Buy on NFLX, with an average price target of $113.97

Reed Hastings, co-founder and board chair of Netflix (NFLX), sold $40.1 million in company stock on April 1, 2026. The transaction involved 393,950 shares sold across multiple trades, with prices ranging from $95.02 to $96.66 per share.

Netflix, Inc., NFLX

The sale was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and conducted on the open market.

On the same day as the sale, Hastings exercised previously awarded stock options to acquire 420,550 NFLX shares at $9.44 per share, totalling approximately $3.97 million. He also acquired 654 shares via Non-Qualified Stock Options at $95.55.

This isn’t a one-off. On March 2, Hastings sold 410,000 NFLX shares for proceeds of around $39 million. That puts his total stock sales in 2026 at over $79 million in just a month.

The sales arrive after Netflix walked away from its $82 billion pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Following a lengthy battle that also involved Paramount Skydance (PSKY), Netflix dropped its bid for WBD entirely.

Shortly after that, Netflix raised prices across its U.S. subscription tiers.

Netflix Price Hikes Draw Analyst Attention

The ad-supported Standard plan now costs $8.99 per month. The Standard ad-free tier moved to $19.99, and the Premium tier climbed to $26.99 per month.

Analysts at Needham estimate the price increases could add roughly $1.7 billion in incremental revenue, boosting North American reported growth by around 300 basis points in fiscal 2026.

BofA Securities, Bernstein, and Needham have all reiterated positive ratings on the stock, with price targets of $125, $115, and $120 respectively.

NFL Expansion Talks Add to the Mix

Netflix is also in discussions to expand its NFL game package from two to four games per season. The company is targeting new slots, including a Thanksgiving Eve game and an international match.

This comes as Netflix approaches the end of its three-year Christmas Day game deal, which cost approximately $75 million per game.

Citizens Bank recently initiated coverage on NFLX with a Market Perform rating, pointing to Netflix’s position as the second-largest streaming platform globally.

As of the latest analyst data, 41 Wall Street analysts cover NFLX with a consensus Strong Buy rating — 30 Buy and 11 Hold recommendations issued in the past three months. The average price target sits at $113.97, implying around 16% upside from current levels.

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