Analyst Says Netflix is Now Worth $850

Analysts at Pivotal Research upped their Netflix, Inc. NFLX price target by $200 to $850, noting that the accelerated international expansion will lead to user growth and, ultimately, higher profits. By 2021, the analysts said that Netflix will generate more than $40 per share in earnings.

To get to that number, Pivotal forecasted 95 million paid international subscribers, an 18 million increase over prior forecasts. As long as Netflix "continues on this subscriber trend or better, we believe shares have room to move higher," the analysts noted.

Pivotal also said that it believes Netflix "remains a takeout candidate for a large Internet player." Potential suitors include Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, Google Inc GOOG, Apple Inc. AAPL or Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA.

Accompanying the note, the analysts outlined 20 risks to the forecast. Those risks include potential changes in the regulatory landscape, including a Net Neutrality change, competition from Amazon or Google, and $10 billion in content obligations. Of these, Pivotal seemed most concerned that Netflix is reliant on other businesses, whether it is Internet speeds or an infrastructure that relies on Amazon Web Services.

Year to date, Netflix is up more than 82 percent. In 2014, the stock fluctuated widely, though the price closed the year 7 percent lower than it started. At last trade, Netflix was at $624, up another 1 percent on the session.