Ahead of the Bell: Netflix shares jump

posted: 12 DAYS 19 HOURS AGO

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NEW YORK -Netflix Inc. shares soared in premarket trading Thursday after the DVD-by-mail service's fourth-quarter earnings blew past Wall Street expectations.

The stock jumped $10.45, or 21 percent, to $61.42, ahead of the regular session.

Fourth-quarter results show the company's "momentum is stronger than ever, driven by excellent execution amid a very favorable competitive environment," Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali said in a note to investors.

Netflix has been surging past competitors such as Blockbuster Inc., luring droves of new customers with its streaming video service online.

Squali upgraded the company to "Buy" from "Hold." Merriman Curhan Ford raised Netflix to "Buy" from "Neutral," and Kaufman Bros. raised its price target for the company's stock to $69 from $55.

Netflix said after the closing bell Wednesday that it now has more than 12 million subscribers. It added a record 1.1 million customers during the fourth quarter and earned 56 cents per share, compared with the average forecast from analysts of 45 cents, according to Thomson Reuters.

The Los Gatos, Calif. company also gave an upbeat forecast, predicting it will win another 1.2 million to 1.5 million customers by the end of March.

2010-01-28 09:17:11