The firm said NFLX will likely be the dominant global streaming player for the foreseeable future
The shares of Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) are up 3% at $521.27 at last check, after the streaming giant received a Street-high price-target hike from Pivotal Research to $650 from $600 this morning. The analyst in question said the security has benefited massively from customers across the world staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and added that NFLX is likely to remain as the dominant global streaming player for the foreseeable future.
On the charts, Netflix stock has steadily carved out a channel of higher highs over the past several months. And while the equity has cooled off slightly from its all-time-high of $575.37 on July 13, the 100-day moving average has successfully contained its latest pullback. Year-over-year, the security sports a 87% lead.
Analysts were already mostly optimistic towards the equity coming into today, with 15 of the 28 in question sporting a "strong buy" rating, and 13 carrying a tepid "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the stock's 12-month consensus target price of $521.97 is a 3.2% premium to current levels, meaning there is still room for more price-target hikes in the future.
That bullish sentiment is reiterated in the options pits, where calls are popular. NFLX sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 2.52 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) that sits in the 97th percentile of its annual range. This suggests a healthier-than-usual appetite for bullish bets of late.
Investors looking to get in on Netflix stock's next move should consider options. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 44% sits in the relatively low 24th percentile of its annual range. In other words, option traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment.