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Netflix sinks despite flurry of Wall Street price target hikes

Analysts issued a number of bullish notes on the streaming giant after its second-quarter earnings beat, even as the stock traded lower on margin pressure.

Netflix’s Q2 earnings beat is getting a warm reception from analysts... even if the market doesn’t agree. Shares slipped about 5% on Friday morning after the streaming giant warned that second-half margins would be lower than the first half’s.

Still, the Street rolled out a slew of price target hikes on the stock as analysts leaned into the platform’s ad-tier traction, password crackdown momentum, and engaging content pipeline.


Wells Fargo

Price target: $1,560 from $1,500

Wells Fargo sees Netflix’s strategy clicking: recovering paid sharing revenue, scaling its ad tier, and expanding margins through a “flywheel” of reinvestment into content and tech. Analysts see the platform evolving into a much broader revenue engine.


Morgan Stanley

Price target: $1,500 from $1,450

Netflix remains a top pick at Morgan Stanley, which expects the platform’s new ad technology to nearly double advertising revenue next year. Analysts also see early adoption of generative-AI tools as a competitive edge in both content and product.


Jefferies

Price target: $1,500 from $1,400

Jefferies expects subscriber growth to continue, driven by password-sharing enforcement and steady gains in the ad tier. Longer-term growth is expected to come from price increases and improved monetization, alongside healthy free cash flow margins above 25%.


Piper Sandler

Price target: $1,500 from $1,400

Piper maintained its bullish stance, calling Netflix a defensive name with multiple upside drivers including advertising, higher prices, and a strong slate of content for the second half of the year. The firm also flagged the roughly $1 billion boost to 2025 revenue guidance as a sign of confidence.


UBS

Price target: $1,495 from $1,450

UBS called out Netflix’s widening content mix and investment boost in live programming as key to sustaining engagement. Analysts still expect most revenue growth this year to come from new subscribers. The firm also highlighted Netflix’s expectations that ad revenue will double this year.


JPMorgan

Price target: $1,300 from $1,230

JPMorgan reiterated its neutral stance, noting that Netflix’s 2025 outlook was helped by FX gains. The firm said subscriber additions in Q2 were weighted toward the end of the quarter, driven by strong content like Squid Game season 3 and other franchise shows.

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Lululemon’s stretch getting tested: Stock plunges after after outlook is cut

Lululemon shares are down double digits in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year sales and profit outlook, overshadowing a Q1 beat and raising fresh concerns about the brand’s turnaround efforts.

The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be flat to down 1%, compared with its prior forecast for 2% to 4% growth. Guidance for full-year diluted earnings per share was dragged down to a range of $10.95 to $11.15, below the company’s previous guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 and well below Wall Street’s estimate of $13.26.

Key numbers for Q1:

  • EPS of $1.69 vs. the $1.68 expected.

  • Revenue of $2.47 billion vs. the $2.43 billion expected.

The modest top-line beat masked a widening divergence between Lululemons geographic markets. While international revenue rose 22% overall with a 30% increase in Mainland China, the bigger problem remains North America, where revenue fell 5%.

Interim co-CEO and CFO Meghan Frank acknowledged during the earnings call that recent product rollouts underperformed. A highly anticipated yoga campaign failed to generate its expected halo effect across broader product lines.

Profitability metrics took a major hit, with gross margins contracting by 410 basis points to 54.2% due to mounting tariff costs and promotional markdowns. Operating income consequently fell 37% year over year to $276.9 million.

“We experienced spikes of negative commentary in the media and on social channels with regard to our brand, which had an impact on traffic and overall top-line performance,” Frank said during the earnings call. “And second, not all of our product launches have met our expectations. While we have had several successful launches so far this year, we have seen others as we start Q2 not generate the anticipated guest response.”

Lululemons valuation has already been steadily compressing for years. While it was once one of retails richly valued stocks, investors have been questioning whether the company can return to the double-digit growth era.

The results also arrive during a leadership transition. Lululemon announced back in April that former Nike executive Heidi ONeill is set to take over as CEO in September, with investors looking to her to revive growth in North America and restore the brands growth.

As Lululemon faces both macroeconomic pressure and brand-specific challenges, its stock has dropped around 40% year to date.

markets

US job growth skyrocketed in May, blasting past expectations

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in the month of May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, sending 10-year Treasury yields higher.

The strong May job market surprised economists. Experts had predicted only 85,000 new jobs — just half the reported number. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected.

The job growth story is a hopeful spot for the economy as consumers continue to feel inflationary pressure from the Iran war.

Job gains were buoyed by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs, as well as local government, healthcare, and education.

Both the March and April jobs reports were revised upward, making them collectively 93,000 higher than previously reported.

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