Netflix Hits Fresh Peak After Analysts Downplay Livestream Issues: Retail Takes A Breather

Shares of Netflix, Inc. ($NFLX) rose over 3% on Tuesday afternoon, reaching a new peak and extending gains for a second consecutive session. 

The rally followed bullish analyst notes that overshadowed criticism of technical glitches during Netflix’s largest live-streaming event to date.

Wedbush Securities on Monday raised its price target for Netflix to $950 from $800, maintaining an ‘Outperform’ rating. Analyst Alicia Reese emphasized the success of the Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul boxing event, which demonstrated Netflix’s global reach and potential in live sports. 

Reese highlighted the company’s ability to drive substantial viewership for regional sporting events, positioning live content as a future driver of ad-tier revenue growth.

“While the press will focus on the technical bandwidth issues and customer complaints, our guess is that viewing was likely [approximately two times] internal expectations, a high-quality problem that can easily be fixed by Christmas Day,” Oppenheimer’s Jason Helfstein said.

With 60 million households watching and a peak of 65 million concurrent streams, the analyst estimated there were around 150 million total viewers, assuming 2.5 viewers per household.

NFLX sentiment and message volume on Nov 19 as of 2:15 pm ET | source: Stocktwits

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Netflix remained ‘neutral’ (52/100), with divided opinions on the long-term impact of the event. 

There was also some caution among retail investors despite the stock’s upward momentum.

Adding to the optimism, Netflix announced on Monday that Beyoncé will headline the halftime performance for one of its two Christmas Day NFL games. 

The NFL Christmas Gameday will feature marquee matchups, including the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens against the Houston Texans, streaming live globally.

Netflix shares have surged more than 85% year-to-date, driven by the company’s evolving content strategy and the success of its advertising-supported subscription tier.