Tuesday 08 October 2024
Netflix Hits Record High After “Squid Game” Release
Media streaming service Netflix (NFLX) is beaming from its Autumn content offering, led by the popular dystopian drama “Squid Game”. Netflix stock lifted 5.1% yesterday, reaching another record high of $642.74 and closing at $637.21.
The hit series “Squid Game” from South Korea was launched on September 17th and is on the right path to becoming one of Netflix’s most watched television series. The show is hot on social media platforms, as hashtag #SquidGame# has been viewed over 22.8 billion times on TikTok alone.
Cowen analyst John Blackedge changed his outperform rating on Netflix share price with a new $650 target. Blackledge estimated that in Netflix’s third quarter 2021, the company added 3.63 million subscribers. This estimation touches just above the company’s guidance of 3.5 million.
Subscriber Growth Drives Netflix
Netflix ended its second quarter with 209.18 million subscribers with Canada and the U.S. accounting for 35.4% of total subscribers. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven business for the company as “stay-at-home” restrictions amplified T.V. use and entertainment such as cinemas, live music, and sports were shut down.
As Q3 earnings is just around the corner, analysts forecast the streaming television giant will add 3.5 million subscribers. For Q3, analysts expect Netflix to earn $2.55 per share on sales of $7.48 billion, whereas for Q2, Netflix earned $2.97 per share on sales of $7.34 billion.
The media streaming pioneer plans to release its third quarter earnings on October 19. Will this be the next catalyst for Netflix’s share?
Big Tech Stocks Rebound as Market Events Unfold
Netflix wasn’t the only big tech stock to shift yesterday. Facebook (FB) and Qualcomm (QCOM), also moved upwards. Possibly due to recent welcoming market events, the NASDAQ 100 (US-TECH 100) traded up by 1.4% on Tuesday. What events may have been affecting these big tech giants?
Facebook Looks Up After 6 Hour Outage
After an underwhelming Facebook outage on Monday, which also affected Instagram and WhatsApp, many market watchers zoned in on tech stocks. The social media giant suffered its longest outage in more than a decade with a total of six hours out of service. The release of thousands of confidential documents by whistleblower Frances Haugen may also have had a negative effect on Facebook’s share price.
On Monday, Facebook’s stock plunged by over 4.7%, and yesterday slowly recovered by 2%.
Qualcomm Closes Deal With Veoneer
The technology company Qualcomm along with investment group SWW Partners bought the Swedish based tech group Veoneer for approximately $4.5 billion.
Qualcomm and SWW Partners have agreed to pay $37 per share for Veoneer and Qualcomm will acquire its drivers’ assistance technology systems program. SWW Partners will manage the sales of its safety business and restraint control systems.
Qualcomm’s share price welcomed the news and rose 0.7% yesterday, after an underwhelming previous few days.
Traders may be keeping an eye out for how these big tech stocks react in the coming days or weeks, as recent market events could be the reason why these big stocks are shifting.
