Why Netflix Stock Is Rising Again

Netflix Inc NFLX shares are trading higher Thursday following positive analyst coverage from Evercore ISI.

Evercore ISI Group analyst Mark Mahaney upgraded Netflix from an In-Line rating to Outperform and raised the price target to $300 from $245, citing new revenue opportunities from the company's ad-supported streaming tier.

Netflix shares popped on Wednesday after the company estimated that the ad-supported version of its streaming platform would reach about 40 million viewers on a global basis by the third quarter of 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing a document the company shared with ad buyers. 

As the company prepares to launch a lower cost, ad-supported streaming service, executives from Netflix and advertising partner Microsoft Corp MSFT started meeting with ad buyers in recent weeks.

Related Link: Here's How Many Extra Subscribers Netflix Is Expecting With Ad-Supported Plan

Netflix told potential ad buyers that it expects to have 4.4 million unique viewers globally by the end of 2022, with 1.1 million coming from the U.S. The company reportedly estimated that it would grow to over 40 million unique viewers by the third quarter of 2023, with 13.3 million coming from the U.S. 

NFLX Price Action: Netflix has a 52-week high of $609.99 and a 52-week low of $162.71.

The stock was up 2.03% at $228.73 Thursday morning. 

Photo: yousafbhutta from Pixabay.