Category Archives: etf

Netflix Stock Dives On Weak Subscriber Guidance For Q2

Netflix ( NFLX ) late Monday beat forecasts for first-quarter earnings and subscriber growth, but disappointed with weak subscriber guidance for the current quarter. Netflix stock fell 10% in after-hours trading following the earnings news release. During the regular session Monday, Netflix fell 2.8% to 108.40. The Internet TV service gained 6.74 million total streaming subscribers worldwide in Q1, including 2.23 million in the U.S. and 4.51 million in international markets. In January, Netflix said it expected to add 1.75 million U.S. streaming subscribers and 4.35 million international subscribers for a total of 6.1 million additional subscribers in the first quarter. It expected to end Q1 with 80.86 million total streaming subscribers, but its actual total was 81.5 million. For the current quarter, Netflix said it expects to add just 500,000 U.S. subscribers and 2 million international subscribers. That would be the smallest customer growth in two years. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company faces subscriber churn in the U.S. as a result of longtime customers seeing a $2 increase to their monthly fee to $9.99 a month. In the first quarter, Netflix earned 6 cents a share on sales of $1.958 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected Netflix to earn 3 cents a share on sales of $1.965 billion in the first quarter. For the second quarter, Netflix is targeting earnings per share of 2 cents. It did not give a revenue estimate. Wall Street had been modeling for Netflix to earn 5 cents a share, down 17% year over year, on sales of $2.117 billion, up 29%, in Q2. In the Internet TV sector, Netflix competes with Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Hulu, Time Warner ‘s ( TWX ) HBO and others. On Sunday, Amazon ramped up the competition with Netflix by announcing a stand-alone subscription video service at a lower price. Amazon is now offering its Amazon Prime Video for $8.99 a month, a dollar less than Netflix’s standard streaming plan. Amazon Prime Video was previously available only as part of the online retailer’s $99-a-year Prime service, which offers free two-day shipping on millions of items. Amazon stock closed up 1.5%.  

Netflix, Delta Air Follow Apple In Undercutting This Key Support Area

Netflix ( NFLX ) and Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) are among the big-name companies that undercut their 200-day moving averages Monday, following on the heels of  Apple ( AAPL ). Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix fell 2.8% to 108.40 on the stock market today , closing above its 200-day line after falling as low as 106.02 intraday. Netflix moved above the support/resistance level last week. But shares crashed late Monday after Netflix beat Q1 earnings estimates but gave weak Q2 subscriber growth targets. The streaming video giant  faces stepped-up competition with Amazon.com ( AMZN ), which is now offering its Amazon Prime Video as a stand-alone service for $8.99 per month, $1 cheaper than Netflix’s standard streaming plan. Amazon, which reports Q1 results on April 28, broke out of a cup-with-handle formation last week, rising more than 6% in the process. Amazon rose 1.5% Monday. Delta Air Lines fell below its 50- and 200-day moving lines Monday, losing 2%, while most other carriers’ stocks were little changed. The Atlanta-based airline last week reported strong Q1 earnings, boosted by cheaper jet fuel, but revenue slipped 1% as passengers paid slightly less for each mile they flew. Meanwhile, Apple stock fell 2.2%, falling further below its 200-day line after falling below that area on Friday. A research note from Pacific Crest Securities found that consumers prefer data-collecting gadgets such as Fitbit ( FIT ) opposed to more complex wearables such as the Apple Watch. Fitbit sold 21 million units last year compared to the 10 million Apple Watches sold, Pacific Crest Securities said. IBD’s Take: How does Apple stock rate? Objective analysis at IBD Stock Checkup Finally, keep an eye on social networking giant Facebook ( FB ). Facebook stock rose fractionally Monday as continues to find support at its 50-day moving average. Facebook is well above its 200-day line but has lost sight of a buy point at 117.09.

Netflix Seen Posting Worst Earnings In Over 3 Years

With Netflix ( NFLX ) investing heavily in its global expansion, Wall Street is expecting the Internet TV service to report its lowest earnings per share in over three years when it posts first-quarter results after the close Monday. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Netflix to earn 3 cents a share in Q1, down 40% from the year-earlier quarter. That would be the company’s lowest EPS total since the fourth quarter of 2012, when it reported 2 cents in earnings per share. Netflix sales are seen rising 25% to $1.965 billion in the March quarter when it completed its international expansion, excluding China. Analysts don’t see EPS growth returning at Netflix until the fourth quarter. For the next several quarters, the focus of investors will be on subscriber growth and whether Netflix can continue to add new customers at a quick pace. In the December quarter, Netflix added 5.59 million new streaming subscribers, bringing its total to 74.76 million subscribers worldwide. Netflix added 1.56 million U.S. streaming subscribers and 4.04 million international subscribers in Q4. For the March quarter, Netflix forecast 6.1 million new streaming subscribers for a global total of 80.86 million. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company is targeting 1.75 million new U.S. streaming subscribers and 4.35 million new international subscribers. RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney on Friday reiterated his outperform rating on Netflix stock with a price target of 140. “Based on intra-quarter data points, our proprietary survey work, and our model sensitivity work, we believe Street revenue/EPS estimates for Q1 are reasonable,” Mahaney said in a research report. “For the Q2 guide, we believe the Street’s outlook for roughly 600,000 domestic subscriber adds may be slightly aggressive, given uncertainty over pending price increases. But we view the Street’s international subscriber adds outlook of 2.9 million for Q2 as realistic.” Netflix stock tumbled to as low as 106.02 on the stock market today , briefly undercutting its 200-day moving average . Ahead of the closing bell shares were down more than 2% near 109. On Sunday, Amazon ( AMZN ) began offering Amazon Prime Video as a standalone service, for $8.99 a month, a dollar less than Netflix’s basic streaming offering. Amazon stock rose 1.5%, extending its recent breakout. Some Analysts Skeptical Of Netflix’s Prospects Other analysts are more cautious ahead of Netflix’s Q1 earnings release. In a report Friday, Mizuho Securities analyst Neil Doshi maintained his neutral rating on Netflix with price target of 120. While expectations are generally positive ahead of Netflix’s Q1 report, Doshi is concerned about the company’s continued free cash flow losses and whether it can successfully scale local original content in new international markets. FBR analyst Barton Crockett maintained his market perform rating and price target of 100. Netflix’s Q1 report “is likely to feature healthy but decelerating subscriber growth in the U.S. and a record level of growth internationally, powered by new country launches and very robust growth in Latin America,” Crockett said in a report Friday. However, Netflix’s growth appears to be plateauing in developed markets where Netflix has been available for some time, such as the U.S., U.K. and Canada, he said. “We suspect that similar maturity will arrive over the next couple of years in other developed country markets,” Crockett said. “We also believe that some investors may be overly optimistic about the degree of flow-through in second-half 2016 from U.S. price hikes.” RELATED: Netflix Stock Surges Ahead Of Q1 Earnings Report Next Week Netflix Rate Hike To Be Key Test Of Its Pricing Power