Netflix shares soar after Icahn reports 10 percent stake

Shares of Netflix Inc jumped as much as 20 percent on Wednesday after activist investor Carl Icahn reported a stake of nearly 10 percent in the company, which offers subscriptions to watch movies and TV shows over the Internet and on DVDs.

Icahn disclosed the stake in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Netflix stock, which was trading 14 percent higher at $79.47 per share late on Thursday afternoon, had reached $304 in July 2011 but has slumped after the company imposed an unpopular price hike, faced new competition and increased spending on new content and an international expansion.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker; Editing by Gary Hill)