by Eric Savitz, Blogger and Columnist, Barron's, Tech Trader Daily
Netflix is suddenly one of Silicon Valley’s hottest companies–it just reported blowout Q4 earnings, gave a strong Q1 outlook, and its stock has doubled since November. And the company’s service is becoming ubiquitous in the home entertainment space. So why did Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt downgrade the stock this morning from Hold to Sell, estimating its fair value to be well below its current level of $35.95?
Will Microsoft offer Netflix movies over Xbox Live? Bloggers and reporters have been buzzing about the possibility of a partnership for almost a year, ever since Netflix CEO Reed Hastings joined Microsoft’s board of directors last March. But there have been other hints that the two were inching toward a more formal marriage.
Recently, Nielsen/NetRatings revised the way it ranked top Web sites to include “time spent” in its ranking algorithm. I very much applaud this change, because it’s an extra level of information that will be circulated freely to give people additional ways to consider the rankings.
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