Icahn Cashes Out — And Cashes In — On Netflix Stake

How’s this for profit taking? Carl Icahn on Tuesday unloaded nearly half of his almost 10 percent stake in Netflix, cashing in on a stratospheric 457 percent rise in the company’s stock price since he first made the investment.

A new SEC filing detailing the transaction shows the activist investor sold 2.99 million shares at an average price of about $314.85, far above the $58-per-share average price he paid for them last October.

A phenomenal return, and one that Icahn gleefully celebrated on Twitter this afternoon. “Sold a block of NFLX today,” Icahn tweeted. “Wish to thank Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos, NFLX team and last, but not least, Kevin Spacey,” he said, in a nod to the star of one of Netflix’s marquee homegrown series “House of Cards.”

At $314.74, Netflix shares are down in after-hours trading after earlier rising some 9 percent following a strong earnings report on Monday.