Netflix stock jumps 11% on big streaming usage figure
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Netflix stock surged 11% on Wednesday, its biggest gain in almost a year, as investors were impressed by new data on streaming video usage.
The online movie and television subscription company said its customers streamed more than 2 billion hours of content during the final three months of 2011. Analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG estimated that would make Netflix the 15th most-watched television network, ahead of FX, the History channel and CNN.
In the 21 million homes estimated to use Netflix’s streaming video — the company has not updated its subscription figures since Sept. 30 — it is the second-most-watched network, behind CBS, Greenfield said in a research note Wednesday.
“The most relevant take-away is that Netflix streaming usage is exploding and is far, far bigger than traditional media executives give it credit for,” the analyst wrote.
Investors seemed impressed by the prospect of Netflix returning to a fast-paced growth path and taking share from traditional media companies after a tough 2011. The company lost 800,000 subscribers during the third quarter of last year and saw its stock plummet more than 75% from July to the end of the year after an aborted attempt to separate DVD streaming into a brand called Qwikster and a price hike that infuriated many customers.
The jump in Netflix’s share price to $80.45 on Wednesday was its largest one-day gain since Jan. 27, according to Bloomberg.
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