Raymond James Says Netflix (NFLX) Is a 'Buy,' CNBC Debates
NEW YORK (TheStreet) --Raymond James Financial is calling Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report a "buy" ahead the company's earnings report, set to be released next week, saying it will "outperform its $130 target," CNBC's Scott Wapner reported on "Fast Money Halftime Report" on Thursday.
The panel debated if the Raymond James call is worth investors buying a stake in the online streaming giant during the show's "Call of the Day" segment.
"They seem to be focusing more on Europe and they're talking about stabilization terms of North America, so it's interesting. When you look at most of the analysts I think every one of them, that is bullish on Netflix right now, is all about international expansion," Pete Najarian, co-founder of Najarian Family Office and Najarian Advisors, said.
However, that international expansion does come with content limitations. "So the question becomes can they get over that hump? If so, I think this could be a very surprising report," Najarian added.
"There's no way you touch this. The stock is down almost 30% from its high about a year ago, and there's still room to come down. I don't care about international, there's all sorts of execution risks there, this is dangerous," explained Jim Lebenthal, chief investment officer with Lebenthal Asset Management.
One analyst, Stephen Weiss, managing partner at Short Hills Capital Partners, believes there should be another company paying close attention to the Netflix.
"What I think should happen is that Apple (AAPL) should buy them. It would be the perfect acquisition for them, with so much competition from Amazon (AMZN), and Hulu. Tim Cook if you're listening it's a great place to put your cash," Weiss said.
Shares of Netflix are trading higher by 4.47% to $97.86 Thursday afternoon.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings rates Netflix as a "Hold" with a ratings score of "C+". The primary factors that have impacted TheStreet Ratings are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stock.
The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, expanding profit margins and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths,TheStreet Ratings also finds weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow.
TheStreet Ratings objectively rated this stock according to its "risk-adjusted" total return prospect over a 12-month investment horizon. Not based on the news in any given day, the rating may differ from Jim Cramer's view or that of this articles's author.
You can view the full analysis from the report here: NFLX