Netflix (NFLX) looks like a buy. And then again, it looks like a sell. Don't you hate that? Louis Navellier was recently bullish on the movie-rental company. I see his point. But I also see the one-year chart as maybe a reason to take profits at this time. Inarguably, the stock has had a nice run.

A little over a week ago, Wade Hansen discussed the streaming success the company has had and also analyzed the technical prospects for the equity. There's no question that the management team wants to aggressively move its business model forward from physical media to digital delivery. Considering the brand equity in place, I believe the service has a good shot at achieving long-term success.

Continue reading Some Thoughts on Netflix

Some Thoughts on Netflix originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Netflix: How Does the Stock Look Now?

Netflix: How Does the Stock Look Now? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Netflix Hit 52-Week High Yesterday -- Stock a Buy?

Netflix Hit 52-Week High Yesterday -- Stock a Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Movie Gallery Prepares Yet Another Bankruptcy Filing

Movie Gallery Prepares Yet Another Bankruptcy Filing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Netflix Soars on Strong Fourth Quarter Numbers

Netflix Soars on Strong Fourth Quarter Numbers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The only really important bit of financial news today was the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment figure for August. It declined to 63.2 from 66 in May. The consensus among economists polled by MarketWatch was the August's figure would be 69. The portion of the poll called the "expectations index" hit its lowest level since March.

That is particularly bad news because March was the depth of the recession. Analysts were at a loss to explain why the consumer's picture of the economy had turned sour so fast. It is certainly a sign a rebound in spending may be well off in the future, which could be bad news for the upcoming holiday season.

Today's unofficial closing numbers:

Dow 9,321.40 -76.79 (-0.82%)
S&P 500 1,004.09 -8.64 (-0.85%)
Nasdaq 1,985.52 -23.83 (-1.19%)

Continue reading Closing bell: The consumer's retreat takes Wall Street down (BBI, BA)

Closing bell: The consumer's retreat takes Wall Street down (BBI, BA) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) remains troubled. Just look at the second-quarter report that was released on Thursday after the bell. Net sales dropped over 20%, coming in at roughly $1 billion. The company lost 19 cents per share, one penny better than the loss reported in the year-ago period (to which I say, big deal!). According to the preview, the market wanted to see $1.1 billion for the top line and a loss of only 12 cents for the bottom line. A failure on both counts, I'm afraid.

Cash flow was the more attractive part of the Q2 story. The company calculated its free cash flow to be about $109 million. Okay, I'll give Blockbuster a good mark for having positive cash flow this year.

Continue reading Blockbuster reports sales drop, loss in Q2

Blockbuster reports sales drop, loss in Q2 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI), the troubled DVD-rental chain that competes with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), reported earnings for the third quarter on Thursday. The top line decreased by a little under 3%, and the net loss per share was $0.08 on an adjusted basis, which was $0.07 better than expected. Okay, I suppose that's kind of cool from a certain angle. In fact, one analyst quoted in the piece had a good take on the company.

I, however, do not have a good take on Blockbuster. I am not bullish in the least. For one thing, it takes a lot to look past a net loss and say that there's something to the earnings story that goes beyond the bottom line. For another thing, the press release indicates that Blockbuster is not doing well in terms of cash flow. Management needed to use $18.2 million for operations during the third quarter, which was slightly more than the amount needed in last year's similar period. And as for free cash flow, that was negative $53.7 million in Q3 2008 versus negative $38.6 million in Q3 2007. This doesn't scream "Buy Blockbuster!", does it?

Another negative aspect to the story is that the gross margin went down by 70 basis points. I will give one bit of credit, however: same-store sales for domestic locations actually increased slightly over 5%, and worldwide comps expanded by almost 2%.

Continue reading Blockbuster's Q3 shows that the stock is appropriately cheap

Blockbuster's Q3 shows that the stock is appropriately cheap originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) announced first-quarter earnings on Thursday, and while it beat the market's expectations, I can't say I'm terribly excited. Revenues decreased a little over 5% to $1.4 billion. Net income from continuing operations came in at $0.21 per diluted share. Briefing.com says that this performance was $0.06 better than Wall Street's average call. Revenues, however, missed expectations.

Why am I not excited about the performance here? I mean, not only did the bottom line trounce the wizards of Wall Street, but domestic comps increased 2.9%. Well, for one thing, the cash flow was nonexistent. Both operational and free cash-flow were negative; granted, the company used a lot less cash this time for operations, and the deficit in terms of free cash was much better, but still, I don't see any positive green.

Plus, there's just the general idea of Blockbuster itself. My feelings haven't changed since I last wrote about the movie-rental business and its earnings. I still believe that Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and video-on-demand limit the upside potential of the company's long-term prospects (perhaps I shouldn't just say limit; maybe threaten is better terminology, who knows).

Continue reading Blockbuster's first quarter doesn't change my bearish thesis

Blockbuster's first quarter doesn't change my bearish thesis originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 May 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Way back when, the movie-rental wars were fought between the neighborhood video stores (which had limited availability) and the superchain Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) (which had limited availability except for the Die Hard series). Then, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) came along with an amazing business model. Set up an account online, build a mammoth list of movies (from tens of thousands available), receive a few in the mail and send them back when you're done -- no late fees, but you only got new movies when you sent old ones back.

At the time, Blockbuster -- and many consumers -- didn't think it would work. First of all, you had to wait a day or two to get new movies; and second of all, who was going to want to deal with sending movies back in the mail? I mean, gosh. Well, eventually, Blockbuster caved and started the same kind of service. When you compare the two, however, which one takes the cake?

What Netlix Offers: For $16.99, you receive three DVDs in the mail. These movies come from the top of the personliazed list you create on the Netflix site. Delivery times vary, but local distribution centers can usually get them to you in two days. You can keep these DVDs as long as you want; but, if you never return them you never get anything new. Which is a real bummer when I Am Legend is gathering dust on your TV set. After you've watched one, or more, send it back in the provided postage-paid envelope. Within a few days, your next movie arrives in the mail. As of now, Netflix offers a total of nine (9) membership plans, from one-at-a-time to eignt-at-a-time. You can also purchase DVDs through the site, in addition to watching certain movies for free.

Continue reading Battle of the Brands: Netflix vs. Blockbuster

Battle of the Brands: Netflix vs. Blockbuster originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 May 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.