Netflix has hit another major milestone. Now almost 51% of American Internet users have watched movies or shows on the platform in the past 12 months. The number comes from a survey by RBC Capital Markets, which says the popularity of the service is at an all-time high.
Netflix stock undervalued
Now the streaming firm is ahead of YouTube and well above HBO Go, Hulu and Amazon, says RBC analyst Mark Mahaney. Such a finding raises a question as to what Internet users are watching on the YouTube. The platform, which is mostly free, offers users shorter, native content compared to the full movies and TV shows that Netflix users get. It can be said that “they have very different value propositions,” says a report from Quartz.
The original content from Netflix has helped it to be the top subscription-based streaming service. The U.S. firm is adopting the same strategy as it expands globally. The survey found that 52% of respondents in France and 64% in Germany have already watched the popular show House of Cards. For Netflix, its action and drama shows “play better internationally than comedy, as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was watched by only 8%/ 10% of French/ German respondents vs. 26% in the U.S.,” said Mahaney.
Mahaney believes the company has hit a “level of sustainable scale, growth, and profitability” that is still to be reflected in the stock price. The analyst has a $140 price target on the stock.
Netflix and HBO see similar demand in the U.S.
In another study, Parrot Analytics studied the demand of the top five shows on Amazon, Netflix and HBO. The research firm used the “demand expressions” multiple for gauging demand for the content and included blogging, file sharing, video streaming, social media, and Wiki platforms, among other entities, in the study.
For September, the study found that Netflix and HBO bagged all of the top 10 positions. HBO’s Game of Thrones came in first with 28.2 million expressions, while Netflix’s Narcos got 14.3 million expressions. Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black got 8 million demand expressions, while HBO’s True Detective was at 7.8 million. If we exclude Game of Thrones, Netflix and HBO have somewhat similar demand in the U.S., the study found.
On Friday, Netflix shares closed up 3.01% at $123.84. Year to date, the stock is up by almost 154%, and in the last one month, it is up by over 27%.
