Financial Report Preview | Analysts optimistic about Netflix (NFLX.US) Q4 advertising subscription boost growth target price raised to $950.

Netflix (NFLX.US) will announce its fourth-quarter earnings after the close on Tuesday. Leading up to this crucial milestone, analysts are mostly bullish on this streaming giant. According to data tracked by Visible Alpha, out of the 19 brokerages covering Netflix, 14 have a "buy" or equivalent rating, 4 have a "hold" rating, and only 1 has a "sell" rating. Overall, the consensus target price for Netflix is around $905, about 6% higher than the stock's closing price on Friday. Wedbush Securities raised its target price for Netflix to $950 this week, citing the company's "nearly insurmountable lead in the streaming market competition." The firm's analysis suggests that Netflix's $6.99 advertising-supported subscription plan effectively limits customer churn, thereby "easing the pressure to acquire new users" and is expected to continue driving revenue growth in the coming years. Meanwhile, both J.P. Morgan and Oppenheimer recently lowered their target prices for Netflix. J.P. Morgan decreased its target price from $1010 to $1000, but still believes that Netflix's ad-supported tier and measures to combat password sharing "will help expand the user base further and drive incremental high-margin revenue." Oppenheimer also lowered its bullish target price this week. Overall, Wall Street is optimistic about Netflix's performance for this quarter, expecting revenue to increase by 15% year-over-year, reaching $10.13 billion. At the same time, it is estimated that profits will grow to $1.84 billion, equivalent to an earnings per share of $4.23. In comparison, profits for the same period last year were $937.8 million, with an EPS of $2.11. It is worth noting that starting from the earnings announcement on Tuesday, Netflix will no longer report quarterly subscriber numbers. Additionally, the stock closed slightly higher at $858 on Friday, with a cumulative increase of about 78% over the past 12 months.