Why Netflix (NFLX) Stock Is Up Today

What Happened?

Shares of streaming video giant Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) jumped 3.3% in the afternoon session after positive analyst sentiment built ahead of its upcoming third-quarter earnings report, with Bernstein reiterating its "Outperform" rating and a $1,390 price target on the stock. 
The investment firm noted it expected Netflix's revenue and margins to meet or beat expectations. Bernstein also projected subscriber growth would exceed 6 million for the quarter, ahead of the 5.6 million consensus estimate, citing healthy advertising trends and the impact of previous price changes. The optimism was shared by other analysts, with UBS reiterating a 'Buy' rating and a $1,495 price target. Wall Street broadly anticipated strong results, with forecasts for revenue to grow by about 17% and earnings per share to jump by roughly 29% compared to the previous year. The positive buzz was also tied to the company's successful ad-tier monetization and its push into new formats like interactive content.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Netflix’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 13 days ago when the stock gained 2.6% on the news that Seaport Research Partners upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral', pointing to significant growth potential in the company's advertising business. 

The firm also increased its price target for the stock to $1,385. The upgrade was based on the belief that Netflix was positioned for a major boom in its advertising operations and could better monetize its platform. Analysts at Seaport argued that after years of building the required infrastructure, Netflix could double its ad revenue to $3.1 billion this year. They also projected that this revenue stream could expand to as much as $16 billion by 2030. This optimistic view followed a period where the company's stock had pulled back from its recent highs.

Netflix is up 40.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $1,242 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $1,339 from June 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Netflix’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,364.

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