Netflix Inc (NFLX)

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It’s time to stop lumping Netflix in with the other FAANG stocks, says analyst
By: MarketWatch | November 16, 2018

Shares of the streaming giant are being dragged down by investor concerns about the other FAANG stocks, says one analyst

It’s time to stop lumping Netflix Inc. NFLX, -2.68% in with the other FAANG stocks, Imperial Capital analyst David Miller wrote in a note to investors Friday.

The FAANG stocks are a quintet of large-capitalization technology and internet companies widely followed by investors, comprising Facebook Inc. FB, -4.06% Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.85% Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -2.20% Netflix and Alphabet Inc.’s Google GOOG, -1.15% They’re often lumped together, but Miller says it’s time to “decouple” Netflix from the rest of FAANG.

hares of the streaming giant are back down to where they were in mid-April, dragged down by investor concerns about the other FAANG stocks, Miller wrote in a note. Apple shares are down from their previous high, a reaction to the company’s recent decision to stop issuing unit sales data around the iPhone and other hardware products and flat year-over-year iPhone sales, he wrote.

“That has nothing to do with Netflix,” Miller wrote.

The same goes for Facebook, he said. Facebook shares are down from their previous high because the company missed revenue and daily active user estimates in their latest quarter.

But Netflix beat expectations across the board, wrote Miller. The streaming giant is different than the other four FAANG stocks, but its stock price has been affected by “poor market psychology surrounding the rest of ‘FAANG,’ and/or 3Q financial results from the rest of ‘FAANG,’“ he wrote.

“We would advise investors ignore the noise around ‘FAANG,’ and instead, focus on core fundamentals, which for Netflix, are quite healthy,” he wrote. Imperial maintained its outperform rating and price target of $459.

MKM Partners told investors in a note Friday to take advantage of the recent slump in Netflix’s share price, raising its price target to $415 from $395.

“We think Netflix is the strongest company in media and has among the strongest positions and largest growth opportunities in the entire sector,” wrote MKM analyst Rob Sanderson.

Shares of Netflix have gained 50% in the year to date. Apple stock has gained 15%, Amazon 37% and Alphabet 1.4%. Facebook has plunged 21% in the year to date. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.19% has gained 2.4%, while the NASDAQ COMP, -0.77% has gained 5.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.03% which counts Apple as a member, has gained 2.7%.

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