Netflix's International App Downloads Point To Better-than-expected Subscriber Growth, Analyst Says

Instinet analyst Anthony DiClemente raised his 12-month price target on Netflix Inc. to $175 from $165 ahead of the streamer's second-quarter earnings release after the bell on Monday. Internationally, Netflix's app download growth has accelerated in the second quarter, up 43.2% year-over-year in the quarter vs. up 8.4% year-over-year in the previous first quarter, according to DiClemente. "Importantly, our analysis of the relationship between this download data and reported net add growth suggests a strong directional correlation," DiClemente wrote in a note to investors. DiClemente is forecasting international subscriber additions of 2.65 million, above Wall Street's 2.59 million consensus and Netflix's guidance for 2.60 million subscribers. He said he's confident Netflix will hit his forecast as, "much of the strength is coming from large developed European nations that are reaching critical content mass after 2014-2015 launch years." DiClemente also noted the accelerated growth in large Latin American countries, thanks to Netflix's Spanish-language content. The timing of Netflix's content releases is often the biggest factor in subscriber growth. This quarter the content lineup should benefit domestic subscriber growth as well. Diclemente expects Netflix to add 896,000 domestic subscribers in the second quarter, above Wall Street's 631,000 consensus. Shares of Netflix have gained nearly 65% in the year to date. By comparison the S&P 500 index is up 10%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 9% and the Nasdaq Composite Index is up more than 17%.

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