Investing.com – Throughout Netflix’s journey to streaming dominance, famed short-seller Citron has been quick to douse overzealous investor optimism. But in a surprising move, Citron ditched its short-seller mandate and joined the chorus of bulls, urging traders to go long Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).
Much of the optimism from the call on Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has to do with the streaming giant's strong content slate and international growth, both of which could boosts shares back to $350, according to Citron. Netflix rose 1.7%.
Citron sent a tweet, keeping its penchant to opt for dramatics when making a call on Netflix.
In January, when shares were trading above $300, the short seller said investors buying into the streaming company at that level were as “blind as Bird Box," referring to Netflix's original feature film "Bird Box," released in December last year.
International business has grown in importance for the company as many believe it may be nearing peak U.S. subscriber growth.
In its second quarter, Netflix added 500,000 subscribers in the U.S. and 6.8 million international customers.
Netflix is also facing a ramp-up in competition, which will likely rein in some of its dominance.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) is by far the biggest threat, with the launch of its Disney+ streaming service next week.
The Disney+ threat will come under the spotlight later today, when Disney releases third-quarter results and will likely offer more commentary on its streaming platform.
Some have labeled Disney+, the Netflix killer, but many expect the latter will keep its position on the streaming throne.
But Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has a plan.
"We plan on taking spend up quite a bit," Hastings told attendees at the New York Times' DealBook conference Wednesday.
Hastings did concede, however, that consumers will spend dollars on rival streaming platforms, but ultimately most of their time would be spent on Netflix.
Netflix is up about 9% for the year so far and has an average price target of $364, according to consensus estimates from Investing.com.