Icahn sells big Netfix stake for 457 pct profit

BUSINESS

Netflix investors take their profits off the table

Published Wednesday, October 23, 2013 6:52AM EDT

In this Oct. 10, 2011, file photo, the exterior of Netflix headquarters is seen in Los Gatos, Calif. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

Text:

NEW YORK -- Activist investor Carl Icahn sold more than half of his Netflix stake for a 457 per cent profit.

He says he and funds run by his son and a partner bought the shares for about $58 each, and sold them in several blocks this month for $304.23 and $341.44 apiece.

A filing on Tuesday shows he still owns 2.7 million shares, or 4.5 percent, of the Los Gatos, Calif., company.

Netflix shares hit an all-time high on Tuesday of $389.16. But investors started taking profits off the table, and it closed down 9 per cent at $322.52.

Netflix has been shifting its focus from mailing DVDs to streaming movies. One of the people Icahn thanked on Tuesday was Kevin Spacey, the star of Netflix's show "House of Cards."