European Price Hike, Emmy Wins Show All Is Well For Netflix

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  • Shares of Netflix, Inc. NFLX continue to struggle trading above the $100 per share mark.
  • Youssef Squali of Cantor Fitzgerald maintained a Buy rating and $125 price target on Netflix.
  • Squali cited Netflix's "notable" four Emmys win and price hike in Europe as catalysts.
In a report published Monday, Youssef Squali of Cantor Fitzgerald stated that Netflix's four Emmys wins during the 67th Emmy Awards marked a "notable" performance for an $8.99 per month service, although HBO was the "clear winner" with 43 total awards. Even though Netflix's four Emmys wins fell short of
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN
's "surprising" five wins, the fact that Netflix and Amazon Prime combined for 46 nominations is a "clear indication" that content created by OTT (over the top) streaming services is a "growing threat to the establishment." Meanwhile, Netflix raised the price of its service in Europe by approximately one Euro to 8.99 euros per month. The price increase is consistent with prior increases in other markets and implies "strong adoption" of the services, according to Squali. The analyst also suggested that the price hike indicates that Netflix is "operating from a position of strength" and isn't expecting any adverse impact on customer acquisition or retention. Elsewhere, Netflix's most recent original, Narcos, has received "solid" reviews and ratings, such as a 9.1/10 score on IMDB. Squali viewed this favorably as there is a positive correlation between the launch of "big" originals and subscriber growth. Looking forward, Netflix has already launched its service in Japan and is looking to enter South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan in early 2016. The expansion should act as a tailwind to year over year growth in international subscribers over the next two to three years and benefit the stock as the metric is a "primary driver" of performance. Shares remain Buy rated with an unchanged $125 price target.
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Posted In: Analyst ColorAnalyst RatingsAmazonCantor FitzgeraldEmmysIMDbNarcosNetflixYoussef Squali
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