A host of Wall Street analysts raised their price targets on Netflix stock after the internet television network's bullish third-quarter earnings report. Netflix stock hit a record high on the news on Friday.
Late Thursday, Netflix beat expectations for the September quarter and guided higher than views for the current quarter. It also added more subscribers than forecast in the third quarter.
On the stock market today, Netflix stock jumped 11.1% to close at 763.89. Earlier in the session, it notched an all-time high of 766.28. With the move, Netflix stock gapped above the 5% buy zone of its recent breakout.
On Aug. 20, Netflix stock broke out of a cup base at a buy point of 697.49, according to IBD MarketSurge charts. The 5% buy zone extended to 732.36, based on IBD trading guidelines.
In the third quarter, Netflix earned $5.40 a share, up 45% year over year, on sales of $9.83 billion, up 15%. For the fourth quarter, Netflix forecast $4.23 in earnings per share, up 100%, on sales of $10.13 billion, up 15%.
Netflix Stock Gets Flurry Of Price-Target Hikes
At least 19 analysts increased their price targets on Netflix stock after the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company's Q3 report.
BofA Securities analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich reiterated her buy rating on Netflix stock and upped her price target to 800 from 740.
"Netflix remains one of the best-positioned companies within media and has several growth drivers, including the accelerating ramp of its burgeoning ad business," she said in a client note. Other drivers include video games and live programming such as sports, she said.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz kept his outperform rating on Netflix stock and hiked his price target to 825 from 770.
"Netflix remains a primary beneficiary of the $150 billion of linear ad dollars poised to shift online (we estimate $20 billion in the next three years)," Pitz said in a client note.
Wedbush analyst Alicia Reese maintained her outperform rating on Netflix stock and increased her price target to 800 from 775.
"Netflix has established a virtually insurmountable lead in the streaming wars, and we expect it to keep the moat wide while competitors lag behind while trying to replicate Netflix's business model," she said in a report.
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