Netflix falls after Icahn sells stake

Netf lix Inc.’ s highf lying stock pulled back 2.1% on Thursday after billionaire investor Carl Icahn revealed that he had sold his remaining shares in the videostreaming company.

The shares dropped $ 14.37 to $ 664.24, although a late rally helped Netf lix trim its losses. The stock traded as low as $ 654.21 during the session.

Icahn, the 79- year- old activist investor, said Wednesday on Twitter that he had sold the last of his Netflix holdings that he began amassing three years ago.

The overall investment earned him a profit of more than $ 2 billion as Netflix’s stock soared more than 12- fold in that period. The stock is up 94% this year alone despite Thursday’s drop.

Icahn’s disclosure that he cashed out came as Los Gatos, Calif.- based Netflix was trading near a high of $ 706 a share Wednesday, so the stock has now lost 6% since Icahn made his move public.

Icahn later told CNBC that he sold Netf lix partly because he’s concerned the stock market is “overheated.” But, he said, “Netflix is still a great company.”

He also said Netf lix was not the bargain it was when Icahn began investing at $ 58 a share in 2012.

Netf lix on Tuesday announced a seven- for- one stock split, and the stock is scheduled to begin trading on a post- split basis July 15.

Icahn said he hopes that his investment in Apple Inc., a stake worth about $ 6.7 billion, pays off as well as Netflix. “I think Apple is where Netflix was a couple of years ago,” he said.

Apple shares slipped 61 cents to $ 127.50 on Thursday.