The fundraising prospectus also revealed the video streaming and DVD delivery business expects to post a full year loss for 2012, because of stagnant revenues and the costs of launching a service in the UK and Ireland.
Under a share buy-back scheme, Netflix was repurchasing its own shares for more than $200 as recently as the second quarter of this year.
"The company has been buying its own stock high and is now selling it low. Its not exactly a textbook strategy from a capital management perspective" said Barton Crockett, an entertainment analyst at Lazard Capital.
Elsewhere stocks fell on Tuesday, as a downward revision to US third-quarter growth figures put paid to hopes of a rally after Monday's sell-off.
The S&P 500 was down 0.2 per cent to 1,190.31, stuck below 1,200, a level it breached for the first time in a month on Monday.
With trading volumes light Colin Cieszynski at CMC Markets warned the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday could drive further losses.
"It's possible that with the US holiday weekend essentially starting tomorrow afternoon [Wednesday], the weaker hands may be electing to get out early ahead of the holiday, intensifying selling pressure," he wrote to clients.
The Nasdaq Composite index was also off 0.2 per cent to 2,517.57, but the blue-chip heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind for a second day running, falling 0.3 per cent to 11,508.97, weighed down by Hewlett-Packard.
The computer maker slumped in morning trading as investors reacted with dismay to the company's pessimistic outlook for 2012.
Shares fell 3.2 per cent to $26.00, off 7.1 per cent for the week.
A downward adjustment to fiscal 2012 guidance had been widely expected, but the scale took analysts by surprise: new chief executive Meg Whitman predicted full-year earnings per share of $4, well below the $4.56 median analyst prediction, with the company downbeat on both consumer and business demand.
Jeffrey Fidacaro, a computer analyst at Susquehanna, said HP had at least frontloaded bad news.
"We believe this could provide a conservative floor to prudently set up the stock for estimate increases from here," he told clients.
Strong earnings boosted Medtronic. Shares in the medical research firm surged 4.2 per cent to $34.65 after profits for the quarter ended October 28 jumped 50 per cent compared with the same period in 2010.
Declining soup sales knocked Campbells, down 5.3 per cent to $31.82, as quarterly profits fell 4 per cent year on year.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts slipped 5.6 per cent to $44.98, the worst performer in the S&P 500.
Nomura analyst Harry Curtis lowered his earnings estimates for Starwood, citing the company's strong exposure to Europe, which he said was twice as great as its peers, with as much as 12 per cent of total earnings coming from the continent.
Nvidia continued to benefit from widespread reports that it will supply semiconductors for the next generation of Apple MacBooks. Shares rose 2.3 per cent to $14.97, putting the stock up 7.5 per cent for the week, and only 3 per cent off for the year.
Fellow semiconductor stock Analog Devices was up 3.5 per cent to $33.14 after the company used an earnings call to reassure analysts that order rates stabilised in October and November, after heavy declines over the summer.
Gilead Sciences bounced back somewhat from its 10 per cent fall on Monday, which had followed the announcement of an $11bn acquisition. The stock traded up 6.2 per cent to $38.50.
Gold miner Newmont Mining prospered in market volatility yet again, up 1.1 per cent to $66.02, with bearish investors possibly seeking exposure to gold.
The financial sector of the S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent, slightly underperforming the wider index, but the big US banks avoided hefty losses. Jefferies, whose European exposures and funding model have come in for intense scrutiny, was flat at $10.20.
The IntercontinentalExchange was up 1.8 per cent to $116.22, as the derivatives exchange benefited from negative sentiment towards its larger rival the CME Group. The CME was partially responsible for regulating MF Global, the broker-dealer which filed for bankruptcy at the start of the month. CME shares were flat at $241.52 on Tuesday, but the stock has fallen to near year lows since the collapse of MF Global, amid talk of new regulations for the futures industry.