Netflix Shares Move Higher as Pacific Crest Lifts Price Target, Sees US Streaming Subs at 36M by End of 2015

Pacific Crest's Andy Hargreaves lifted his price target on shares of Netflix

Tuesday morning amid boosted margin and subscriber estimates. The analyst now expects Netflix shares to rise to $225, up from a price target of $160 previously. Hargreaves maintains an Outperform rating on shares of Netflix. The Pacific Crest analyst expects Netflix's US streaming business to hit 36 million subscribers by the end of 2015. He expects the international segment to hit 17 million subs and sees operating margin hitting 14 percent. Hargreaves said the company''s "information advantage should allow Netflix to convert content spending into subscriber growth." Specifically, Hargreaves believe Netflix's massive database of sub viewing habits could help the company "invest in original content where it will be most effective, while purchasing thirdparty content across an array of genres that can attract an extremely large audience." With shares of Netflix up more than 5 percent to around $190.60, Hargreaves new price target represents potential upside of about 18 percent.