Netflix Price Target Raised At Raymond James Due To Long-term Potential

Analysts at Raymond James bumped their Netflix Inc. price target to $140 from $120 on the heels of the firm's recent survey of about 590 video consumers, which found 61% of respondents use Netflix. That is above competitors such as Amazon, at 37%, iTunes, at 19%, and Hulu, at 19%. Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson said in a note that while there's nothing to suggest that Netflix is a substitute for TV, given the advantage in live content, the company's growing and improving content library increases his confidence for the long-term. Patterson said Netflix has indicated plans to spend more than $6 billion on content in 2016, and he believes Netflix will be able to drive leverage against content expense over time and remain on track for more than $4.80 earnings per share by 2020. Netflix reported per share earnings of 6 cents during its second quarter of 2015. The company's shares are up 155% in the year to date, while the S&P is only up 1%.