Netflix CEO Reed Hastings realizes $5.3-million profit in stock sale Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings realized a $5.3-million profit from a post-Christmas stock sale, according to a new regulatory filing. Hastings acquired more than 15,238 shares for $417,750 on Dec. 26, which he sold for nearly $5.8 million that same day, according to a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such sales are made as part of a predetermined stock sale program, which triggers when the company's stock hits a certain price. Netflix has been one of the top stock performers of the year, up nearly 300% in 2013 as investors found new enthusiasm for the streaming television and movie service. After a series of missteps in 2011 sank the stock, Netflix has been regaining its luster on Wall Street -- ending the year with a record 40 million subscribers and collecting Emmy recognition for one of its high-profile original series, the political drama "House of Cards." The company also threw off a "poison pill" provision it had adopted to prevent a hostile takeover. The stockholder rights provision, which was instituted after activist investor Carl Icahn acquired a 10% stake in Netflix, originally was set to expire in November 2015. Icahn sold his stake in the company in October, walking away with an $800-million profit -- and thanking Hastings and the rest of the Netflix team for "a job well done." And Netflix announced that it would allow the poision pill to expire Dec. 30. Netflix executive Ted Sarandos upends Hollywood DreamWorks Animation to unveil its first original series for Netflix