Los Gatos, Calif. - Online DVD rental service Netflix (NASD: NFLX) on Monday lowered its guidance on the number of subscribers it expects to count during the third quarter, as well as revenue targets for the fourth quarter, sending shares of the company down nearly 9%.

Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix now expects to end the third quarter with 8.672 million subscribers, down from previous projections of between 8.675 and 8.875 million.

That figure represents a 23% increase over the same period a year ago, and a 3% rise from the previous quarter.

"Net subscriber growth in July was in line with expectations but August was unusually weak," said Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy.

"In September, the business regained momentum with results slightly below original expectations, likely due to the economic climate."

The company now expects to count between 8.95 and 9.25 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, down from prior estimates of 9.1-9.7 million.

Fourth quarter revenue projections were also lowered, to between $353 million and $359 million, from an earlier forecast of $357 million to $367 million.

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