Netflix shares rise 8% as new shareholder gives vote of confidence            

The company's shares rose by the most in a year after hedge fund magnate Bill Ackman acquired more than 3.1m shares

Netflix added 18m customers last year, the fewest since 2015, and forecast the slowest start to a year in at least a decade.

Netflix shares rose by the most in a year after hedge fund magnate Bill Ackman acquired more than 3.1m shares in a vote of confidence following a recent collapse in the streaming giant’s stock price.

Mr Ackman’s firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, is now among Netflix’s top 20 shareholders, the investor said in a tweet earlier this week, and Netflix shares jumped by more than 8% to value the streaming giant at $172.3bn (€151.9bn).