Chart Of The Day: Netflix Took Apple Hit, But Shares Could Rise to $385

 | Feb 14, 2019 15:01

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) may have taken a hit from being left out of Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) new video service, falling 2.3% yesterday, but we're not convinced this can change the fundamental picture. While the new competition may impact the long-term outlook, we are bullish in the medium term. International growth is rising and cord-cutting is in an uptrend. In addition, it's unlikely that, even in a recession, consumers will cancel their $10-a-month Netflix subscription.

The market is pricing in 8 percent long-term sales growth. Credit Suisse wrote in a note to investors “the market is embedding that NFLX will achieve 335 million subscribers by 2028," which will more than double the current number of a little more than 148 million subscribers. The market's also implying that Netflix will capture 42 percent of all global broadband households, excluding China, the firm calculates.

The shares have soared more than 6,000 percent in the last 10 years, rising 33 percent this year alone.

Netflix's current dominance of the internet entertainment market has allowed it to dramatically hike prices to offset plateauing domestic subscription growth. But this advantage may not last. Apple aims to start its video service in April, which could see Netflix forced to review its prices. At the same time, the cost of content is being driven up by competition. HBO’s "Game of Thrones" cost $10 million per episode. Netflix paid 30% more per episode for "The Crown."