Netflix Inc. said its board has approved a seven-for-one stock
split, a move intended to make the shares more attractive to retail
investors as the stock has soared over the past two years.
The streaming service had said in April that it expected to seek
shareholder approval to increase its authorized shares and would
recommend to a stock split to make the shares more accessible.
The shares closed Tuesday at $681.19 and have risen 99% so far
this year after trading at just under $100 a share at the beginning
of 2013.
Netflix, which previously split its stock in 2004, said the
shares would begin trading at the post-split price on July 15.
Seven-for-one splits, like the one done by Apple Inc. last year,
are uncommon. While splits don't change anything about a company or
its valuation, they tend to generate renewed interest in a
company's stock price, driving up the value.
After experiencing a burst of popularity in previous decades,
stock splits have been shunned by companies in recent years. From
2008 through 2013, only 12 S&P 500 companies, on average, split
their stocks each year.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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