Piper Jaffray: Netflix Subscriber Survey Shows Strength In Face Of Competition From Disney

Netflix can chill.

There are lots of new competitors coming, but a survey of Netflix, Inc. NFLX subscribers shows most plan to stick with the service, leading Piper Jaffray to reiterate its bullish stance on the streaming pioneer’s stock.

The Analyst

Michael Olson reiterated an Overweight rating on Netflix with a $440 price target.

The Thesis

With Walt Disney Co. DIS launching a rival streaming service later this year, some investors are concerned about whether Netflix can maintain its suscriber base. Netflix shares dropped more than 4 percent after Disney unveiled details and pricing for its streaming service last month, though it quickly gained much of that loss back.

PiperJaffray’s survey of more than 1,500 U.S. Netflix subscribers suggests only a small percentage are considering switching, Olson said in a Monday note. (See his track record here.)

“In other words, we expect Netflix to continue to capture a significant portion of the tidal wave of traditional content dollars that are migrating to streaming."

The survey is slightly at odds with another poll of Netflix subscribers, by Streaming Observer, in which nearly 15 percent said they might switch to Disney+, which would mean more than $115 million in lost revenue per month.

It may be worth noting that previous surveys have shown lots of subscribers might defect — but they did not.