Wedbush Previews Netflix's First Quarter

In a report published Sunday, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter previewed

first quarter results. Wedbush expects Netflix to meet or exceed expectations. Pachter noted that estimates may be too low with low advertising spending in the first quarter and a high sign-up rate for

. The analyst is optimistic on Amazon's Fire TV announcement. Pachter wrote, “Amazon listed Netflix ahead of its own Prime Instant Video (“PIV”) on the list of streaming apps available for the new box. In addition, Amazon did not introduce a standalone or ad-supported version of its streaming service. Finally, Amazon chose not to bundle PIV with Fire TV. We expect Netflix management to characterize Fire TV as a testament to the tremendous remaining market opportunity.” The analyst expects $1.273 billion in revenue versus consensus of $1.266 billion. Wedbush sees EPS coming in at $0.82 versus consensus estimate of $0.82 and guidance of $0.78. Pachter modeled domestic streaming subscriber net adds of 2.25 million. Wedbush maintained an Outperform rating and $175.00 price target on Netflix. Pachter reported that Netflix's multi-year interconnection agreement with Comcast will force the company to raise the price, affecting the company's growth. Netflix will report first quarter results after the market close on Monday, April 21. A live video discussion will be available at 2 p.m. PT at youtube.com/netflixir. Shares of Netflix closed at $326.71 on Friday. he stock is currently up approximately 1.699 percent at $332.26.