Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) Gets Analysts Boost After August Streaming Data

Battle Road Research on Monday raised the investment rating on Netflix, Inc.(NASDAQ:NFLX) to Hold from Sell saying that it strong brand name and subscriber base of 28 million made it a "disruptive force in the online entertainment business."

The research firm said that the company's 9 million DVD subscribers and 26 million online streaming subscribers still posed a big threat to cable TV operators such as Comcast.

The company which is facing competition from new entrants such as Amazon and Spotify in the video streaming sector has added to its content library.

In places like Latin America, Canada and the U.K. Netflix saw revenues rise by 51 percent in the last reported quarter. Though it is still continuing to sustain losses in these countries, the situation is likely to improve soon.

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Battle Road is projecting $3.6 billion in revenue and 32 cents a share this year versus the consensus for $3.6 billion and a 2-cent-per-share profit, including stock-based compensation.

Both CitiGroup and Piper Jaffray have questioned research firm comScore's Netflix data for August, asking whether the analysis of the data has captured mobile usage of Netflix services.

According to comScore Netflix's U.S. website visitors saw a decline of 6 percent in August on year and down 1 percent from July.

"Given that comScore has just begun to track Netflix’s mobile app traffic and still does not track traffic through devices such as iPad, Xbox, etc., we now wonder whether comScore’s August traffic indicates that a majority of Netflix Streaming has now moved away from Desktop PCs to other Internet connected devices," Citi said.