
A recent analysis from Goldman Sachs suggests that the streaming giant may tank sooner than anyone thought.
Netflix has become synonymous with the first stop for online streaming content, and has made a name for itself in the creative realm after releasing a slew of original content in recent years that has been incredibly well received. Despite Netflix’s favorable position in the online video streaming market, analysts fear that the company could be heading towards a cliff with little means to pump the breaks.
ValueWalk has reported that a recent assessment from analysts at Goldman Sachs painted a less-than-rosy picture for the company. The report tracked 841 hedge funds in the first quarter of this year, and found that the majority of them held short positions in Netflix. The Goldman report valued short interest at $3.4 billion, nearly 9 percent of the number of shares available for exchange.
Netflix stock has been historically volatile, and its most recent earnings statement or the first quarter of 2016 rattled the confidence of Wall Street investors. Driving the poor stock performance was a low rate of international subscriber growth, which was well below investor targets.
This January, the company launched services to 130 countries at the same time, hoping to gain a foothold in every major market, excluding China. The company added 4.51 million subscribers in the first quarter.
Perhaps Netflix’s strongest asset is their stockpile of original content, which has been acclaimed by some of the toughest critics. The programming is largely tailored to American audiences, however, and could explain some of the poor growth in nations like Turkey and Russia.
This year, the company plans to release 600 hours of new original content, including 31 original TV series. With their stock down 22 percent over last year, the company will need to grab a hold of their new international markets and lock down subscribers to continue their projected path of growth throughout the end of the year.
The company’s Q1 earnings statement can be found here.
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