Netflix Sell rating maintained at Benchmark amid report of price increases
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Benchmark maintained its Sell rating on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) on Wednesday amid a report earlier this week that the media and entertainment giant was looking to raise prices. 
âFurther new price increases in the U.S. and elsewhere may be untimely as the global economy seemingly decelerates and equity markets weaken,â analyst Matthew Harrigan wrote in a note, while maintaining his $325 price target.
Shares rose 0.5% on Wednesday morning before the open.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Netflix (NFLX) is discussing boosting prices in a few months in several markets, including in North America, after the actors' strike ends. 
The companyâs last price increase was in January 2022. The new action complements Netflixâs elimination of its ad free basic plan, raising the entry level price from just $9.99 to $15.49, while also addressing password sharing with a $7.99 surcharge for each user outside the main household. 
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced that it is immediately increasing the ad-free price of its Discovery+ service from $6.99 to $8.99, while the ad streaming remained at $4.99 monthly.
Walt Disney (DIS) is also increasing the prices of its streaming services. 
âThe WGA estimates that its new contract implies compensation increases amounting to just 0.2% or $68M of Netflixâs annual revenue,â Harrigan added. Thatâs less than the firm anticipated and implies the new deal is favorable to the studios, though any SAG settlement will almost certainly be more burdensome. 
âWe continue to view Netflix as much more of a media than a tech name although the company is seemingly executing well on its password sharing and [ad-based streaming] initiatives,â Benchmark said. 
Analysts are largely mixed on Netflix (NFLX). It has a HOLD rating from Seeking Alpha authors, while Wall Street analysts rate it a BUY. Conversely, Seeking Alpha's quant system, which consistently beats the market, rates it a HOLD.

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