Netflix sinks on subscriber losses | Calamatta Cuschieri

The Maltese market closed in the green on Thursday, with the MSE Equity Total Return Index ending the session 0.684% higher, to 9,798.149 points. Best performer was Loqus Holdings plc by adding 25.93% to close at 0.085. Followed by FIMBank plc and Malta International Airport plc which rose 2.44% and 2.14% to close at 0.63 and 7.15 respectively. Simonds Farsons Cisk also closed on a positive note with 3% increase to 10.30. There was no negative change for stocks.

European stock markets fell on Thursday on concerns about an uncertain global economic outlook as disappointing company results added weight to lingering disquiet about the China-US trade war. German DAX was down 0.8% as the SAP reported that trade tensions weighed on its second-quarter results.

U.S. stocks gained some ground on Thursday after investors weighed a mixed bag of quarterly earnings news against reports that U.S.-China trade talks have stalled as the two countries grapple over stateside restrictions on Chinese firm Huawei. The gains were slight, however, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 barely edging into positive territory by market close.

Netflix sinks on subscriber losses, analysts still see growth

Wall Street brokerages stuck to a positive outlook on Netflix Inc on Thursday, betting that a strong content slate for the rest of 2019 would reverse shock second-quarter losses in U.S. subscribers that sank its stock price.

Netflix shares fell about 11% on worries about its earnings report that showed lower-than-expected global growth and signs of trouble in its U.S. base ahead of Walt Disney Co’s much-awaited launch of a rival service later this year.

Netflix, whose price-to-earnings ratio is by far the largest of the five big U.S. tech companies making up the so-called FAANG group, has quadrupled in value since 2015 but at $321 per share is down $100 from 2018 peaks. The other FAANG companies are Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc.

The April-to-June period tends to be seasonally weak for Netflix in the United States, where warmer weather and longer days keep viewers outdoors.

Brokers Cowen & Co said Netflix had missed expectations for second-quarter subscriber numbers three times in the last four years. This year, however, the Los Gatos, California-based company set a series of aggressive price hikes, and lost U.S. subscribers for the first time in eight years.

This article was issued by Nadiia Grech, Junior Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, https://cc.com.mt/. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.