Has Carl Icahn Made A Mistake With Netflix, Inc. (NFLX)?

Carl Icahn, billionaire investor and Chairman of Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP), is a well-known personality in the field of activist investing. But in recent times, his bets do not seem to pay off well; case in point, the Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock which plunged 20% overnight. Fox Business Network’s Senior Correspondent Charlie Gasparino spoke about Icahn and his activist investment blunders on the channel’s Market Rally.

Gasparino spoke about the Robin Hood Investors Conference where Carl Icahn will be debating Larry Fink, Chairman of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) on the subject of activist investing. He wondered if Icahn would be protesting his own record as most of his investments are not performing very well now. He pointed out that Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) was the biggest loser in Icahn’s portfolio. The internet video steaming service’s stock went on a downward spiral after it reported a fall in subscriber growth last quarter.

“I like the fact that Carl [Icahn] holds people’s feet to the fire on certain issues particularly in corporate governance,” said Gasparino speaking about Icahn’s reach into the companies in which he holds a stake. But he also listed what he considered to be wrong with activist investing. He said that it was a controversial subject and activist investors were clearly not doing very well, à la Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)’s poor show, this year with the exception of a few like Bill Ackman.

Gasparino also criticized activist investors saying that in spite of all the media attention they get due to their charismatic personalities, they have not done very well this year. “Right now Carl [Icahn] would not stand for some of the investments he has made, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) is getting crushed since he bought it,” he said. He also mentioned that though Icahn got eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) to spin off PayPal, the stock has not shown any pronounced progress as a result of the announcement.

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