Netflix price target raised to $715 from $550 at Barclays

Barclays analyst Kannan Venkateshwar raised the firm’s price target on Netflix (NFLX) to $715 from $550 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The firm says that in order for the equity to keep working to grow into its valuation, either revenue growth or margins will have to come in better than company guidance. “This will not be easy to get there” for Netflix, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays believes the stock is pricing in the “best content cycle, a high multiple and the maximum benefit from paid sharing and margin benefit from the strikes last year.” Now Netflix’s costs will step up and advertising growth will be a drag on pricing, so it is tough to see how estimates or multiples go up if growth is “merely in line with company’s guidance for next year,” contends Barclays.