Pay-to-share benefits are starting to decrease! Benchmark raises Netflix (NFLX.US) target price to $720 and maintains a "sell" rating.

Investment bank Benchmark has raised Netflix's (NFLX.US) target price from $555 to $720 and maintains a "sell" rating on the stock. The bank told investors that Netflix's performance is "clearly better than other major global media companies," although they believe the stock is "overpriced in the current strong market momentum." Benchmark added that as the benefits of shared subscriptions decrease, revenue and profit growth will increasingly depend on new initiatives such as pricing and advertising support layers. Since the second season of Netflix's annual hit Korean drama "Squid Game" premiered on December 26th, according to Netflix's official statistics, it has attracted over 68 million global viewers, topping the company's global streaming series rankings. The performance of this series has led most Wall Street investment firms to hold an optimistic stance, which is why Morgan Stanley and KeyBanc recently significantly raised Netflix's target stock price for the next 12 months and reiterated a "buy" rating. Morgan Stanley's target stock price is as high as $1050, while KeyBanc is bullish at $1000. Wall Street investment firms are generally bullish on Netflix's streaming subscription service revenue, which is expected to continue to exceed expectations under the contribution of "Squid Game" season two. According to internal calculations at Netflix, shortly after the premiere in 2021, the first season of "Squid Game" brought in at least $9 billion in revenue for Netflix, and the second season will compete for the global "Best TV Series" at the upcoming Golden Globe Awards.