Netflix's 2019 Rally Continues With Analysts Bullish on Subscribers

(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc. rallied on Monday, in the latest move higher for the stock, which hasn’t had a negative session thus far in 2019.

Shares gained 5.5 percent, on track for the third straight rise, as well as the seventh advance of the past eight trading days (on the day when the stock didn’t rise, it ended the day unchanged.) The video-streaming company has surged nearly 35 percent over the past eight sessions. Though at current levels, it remains 25 percent below a record hit in July.

The recent gains have come as analysts view the company as less risky than other high-growth momentum names, which have been struggling. In particular, Netflix bulls have pointed to its subscriber growth as a possible positive catalyst.

Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson earlier wrote that Netflix could see stronger subscriber growth than Wall Street is currently expecting in both the U.S. and abroad, pointing to an analysis of Google search trends. He affirmed his overweight rating and $430 price target.

Separately, analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence wrote that Netflix had “a substantial growth opportunity” in Europe, though “at a potentially steep cost.”

Netflix is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results on Jan. 17. Currently, the options market is pricing in a 9.5 percent move after the results, below the 13 percent historical average.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan Vlastelica in New York at rvlastelica1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Brad Olesen

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