Netflix's Stock Price Target Boosted 15% At Pacific Crest

Netlix Inc.'s stock price target was boosted by 15% on Friday at Pacific Crest Securities, which said the video streaming service's price increase implemented for new subscribers on Thursday is a signal of confidence in its North American subscriber base. Analyst Andy Hargreaves raised his stock price target to $140, which is 22% above Thursday's closing price of $114.93, from $122. He affirmed his overweight rating, which he's had on the stock since April 2014. Hargreaves said he doesn't believe Netflix's management would raise prices if it were concerned about the direction of subscriber growth. "We view today's price increase as positively, as it likely signals confidence in subscriber growth and suggests a faster pace of price increases than is embedded in our model," Hargreaves wrote in a note to clients. The stock slipped 0.2% in premarket trade, after running up 6.3% on Thursday. It has more than doubled so far this year, while the S&P 500 has slipped 2.2%.