What happened
Netflix's (NFLX -3.92%) stock is rising on Thursday -- two days after the streaming-TV specialist's fourth-quarter earnings release. As of 3:23 p.m. EST on Thursday, Netflix stock was up 5.8%.
The stock's gain follows two bullish notes from analysts, both of which are reiterating buy ratings for the stock. One analyst said the secular tailwind for Netflix was thanks to traditional TV continuing to decline in favor of streaming offerings. The other analyst cheered the streaming-TV company's strong international growth.
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So what
Shares of Netflix have significantly underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, primarily due to growing concerns of "streaming wars" as new streaming services launch. But Stifel analyst Scott Devitt, who reaffirmed a buy rating and a $390 price target on the stock, believes this narrative is missing the bigger story of rapidly fading traditional TV formats like cable and satellite. He says this on the heels of Comcast (CMCSA -0.37%) announcing on Thursday that it lost 133,000 residential video customers during the quarter -- an acceleration compared to the 19,000 it lost in the year-ago period.
Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris similarly reiterated a buy rating but he also increased his 12-month price target on the stock from $400 to $420. Supporting his bull case, he noted that Netflix saw record paid member additions internationally during Q4. Further, he said viewing per member improved globally and domestically. Together, these factors set the stage for strong growth potential globally in the coming years, Morris explained.
Now what
While investors should keep an eye on Netflix's intensifying competitive environment, these analysts bring up good points about the company's strong underlying momentum today.
If Netflix can keep up its strong international growth and benefit from cord-cutting, there may be significant upside left for the streaming-TV company.
