Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix
Guggenheim Securities believes Netflix shares will go higher due to its rising international streaming business.
The firm raised its price target to $420 from $360 for Netflix shares, saying the company's locally-produced content offerings will spur demand in India. Guggenheim Securities also reiterated its buy rating for the company.
"We believe that Netflix subscriber penetration will significantly exceed what is implied in the company's current valuation," Michael Morris said in a note to clients Wednesday. "We expect the 3Q launch of original local-market content in India, upgrades to user experience and consumer products development to support share appreciation."
Netflix shares are up 0.6 percent in Wednesday's premarket session.
Morris estimates there are about 78 million people in India's middle class today who can afford the company's service. He predicts Netflix will have 5.5 million subscribers in the country by 2020.
"We believe that India represents an under-appreciated long-term opportunity," he said. "We see improving broadband infrastructure and a growing population of upper-middle class smartphone users as an attractive addressable market."
In its second-quarter financial results reported in July, the company said it added 5.15 million memberships, missing the Wall Street consensus of 6.34 million. As a result, Netflix shares are down 6 percent since the end of June through Tuesday.
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