Netflix shares climbed Tuesday after Deutsche Bank upgraded the streaming giant to Buy from Hold. The bank argues that investors may be paying too much attention to weakness in the US while overlooking the company's much larger international opportunity.
Netflix closed Sept. 29 at $70.30, up 1.55% for the session. Shares were slightly lower in Wednesday pre-market trading at around $70.14.
Analyst Bryan Kraft lowered Deutsche Bank's Netflix price target from $100 to $95 despite the upgrade. Even so, the new target sits roughly 35% above Netflix's latest closing price.
The contradiction of cutting a target while becoming more bullish mostly comes down to valuation.
Kraft estimates Netflix now trades at around 18 times Deutsche Bank's 2027 earnings forecast, compared with roughly 40 times forward earnings when the stock was near its June 2025 peak. He believes that valuation no longer adequately reflects Netflix's growth prospects.
Netflix's International Business Takes Center Stage
One of Deutsche Bank's biggest arguments is that Wall Street may be focusing too heavily on declining US viewing time.
International viewing has increased year over year during each of the past four six-month periods, according to Kraft. More than 60% of Netflix's content production is also now located outside the US. This gives the company a huge infrastructure advantage as it competes for viewers globally.
Deutsche Bank believes Netflix could change beyond a traditional streaming company into an entertainment platform spanning advertising, gaming, podcasts and distribution partnerships. Kraft also views artificial intelligence as an opportunity for Netflix, particularly when it comes to personalization, advertising and content production.
The bullish call comes after a difficult stretch for shareholders. Netflix has fallen more than 23% in 2026 and is trading far below its 2025 highs. However, the underlying business continues to grow.
Second-quarter revenue increased 13% year over year to $12.56 billion, while operating income rose 11% to $4.19 billion.
The next major test arrives Oct. 20, when Netflix reports third-quarter results. Those numbers could show whether its global growth story is strong enough to overcome the concerns that have battered the stock this year.
