Netflix has more room to expand its margins at it pulls ahead of the competition, according to MoffettNathanson. The firm upgraded the streaming giant to buy from neutral and upped its price target to $1,100 per share from $850. MoffettNathanson’s forecast implies about 20% upside ahead from Friday’s close. “We raise our estimates with greater confidence in the margin expansion story,” analyst Robert Fishman said in a note. Fishman asserted that the company has emerged as the winner of the “streaming wars,” adding that Netflix can still find further growth despite its already robust user base. “Despite all of Netflix’s recent success in reinvigorating growth, we believe its engagement will allow the company to better monetize and unlock greater profits in the years ahead,” Fishman said. Specifically, the analyst said Netflix can pull more revenue from its current roster of subscribers, and can also find further growth from advertising. “When looking at revenue per hour viewed, Netflix still appears to be underearning relative to the engagement it drives, and we believe it still has a consumer surplus to price into going forward,” he said. “Continued growth in subscription revenues and faster growth in advertising should drive margin expansion of at least +200 bps per year going forward, reaching 40% by 2030 with room to grow from there.” Most analysts are bullish on the stock. According to LSEG, 34 of 47 analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or strong buy. The average price target points to more than 16% upside.
