Netflix Investors Fearing Competition From Apple?

Joel Elconin is the co-host of Benzinga's #PreMarket Prep, a daily trading idea radio show.

Netflix, Inc. NFLX shares were trading lower by $9.50 (8.5 percent) at $105.53 in Tuesday's session. Investors are fleeing the issue, perhaps on the announcement that Apple Inc. AAPL may soon be challenging Netflix in the original video content space. Apple reportedly plans to be a formidable competitor to Netflix by the end of 2016.

The news, which came out before the open, induced a lower open in Netflix ($109.35 vs. Monday's close of $115.03). After a brief rally to $111.24, the sellers came in full force.

So far, the decline has taken the issue to $104.71. If the decline continues, there may not be any identifiable support until the pair lows from August 25 ($101.50) and August 26 ($102.02).

In last Monday's mini-flash crash, Netflix swooned to $85.50 before rebounding to end the day at $96.88. The follow through on the rally was halted on Friday when it peaked at $119.35.