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Netflix stock is on its way to its biggest one-day gain since the video subscription service went public more than a decade ago. The stock had climbed $38.40, or 37 percent, to $141.66 in early afternoon trading Thursday as investors celebrated a fourth-quarter earnings report that Netflix Inc. released late Wednesday. Earlier in the session, the shares hit a new 52-week high of $149.17.

Netflix raised Chief Executive Reed Hastings's compensation package to $4 million for 2013, essentially doubling his pay this year.

Amazon.com's latest technical glitch—interrupting service for Netflix Inc. and others—is causing some companies to rethink their reliance on the company for the bulk of their Web-computing needs.

Netflix Inc doesn't plan to pass along the cost of the rights to Walt Disney Co movies to subscribers, a senior executive at the video streaming company said on Wednesday.

Netflix’s video subscription service has trumped pay-TV channels and grabbed the rights to show Disney movies shortly after they finish their runs in theaters. The multiyear licensing agreement announced Tuesday represents a breakthrough for Netflix as it tries to add more recent movies to its popular service that streams video over high-speed Internet connections.

Netflix is moving to protect itself against hostile takeovers, less than a week after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a stake of nearly 10 percent in the online video company. Netflix Inc. said Monday that it has adopted a shareholder rights plan, also known as a poison pill. Such a plan is designed to make it difficult or even impossible for someone to take over the company without an agreement from the board. When the provision is triggered, additional shares flood the market and make it prohibitively expensive for a takeover.

Consumers who dream of watching HBO hits like "The Sopranos" or "Game of Thrones" by streaming to TVs using their Netflix accounts shouldn't hold their breath.

Netflix shares rose 13% today after a the market took yesterday off due to the July 4 holiday, closing at $81.72 thanks to the company's biggest single-day gain since late January.

Netflix says it will stream certain movies from The Weinstein Co., including "The Artist," under an exclusive licensing agreement.

Phone company Verizon Communications Inc. will challenge Netflix and start a video streaming service this year with Redbox and its DVD rental kiosks.