Netflix climbs to an all-time high ahead of earnings

Netflix closed at an all-time high of $133.70 on Friday, up 3.5% on the day.

The rise shows investor confidence is high heading into Netflix's quarterly earnings report on January 18.

Variety points out that some Wall Street analysts have issue optimistic forecasts, which could be boosting the stock. Deutsche Bank's Bryan Kraft upped Netflix from "Sell" to "Hold" in a note distributed on Thursday. Kraft thinks Netflix will present strong international growth results, adding 4.35 million international subs, to the company's guidance of 3.35 million, buoyed by strength in Western Europe.

Kraft said the increased international demand was "catalyzed by original content (e.g. Luke Cage - Sept. 30 release, The Crown, Gilmore Girls, and Fuller House)."

Other analysts are predicting results more in line with Netflix's guidance.

"We are estimating 1.46 million net new U.S. streaming subs and 3.75 million net new international streaming subs, roughly in line with guidance," RBC's Mark Mahaney wrote in a note distributed on Thursday.

Netflix was the darling of Wall Street in 2015, finishing as the best performer in the S&P, though it had a rockier 2016 after under-delivering, at times, on subscriber growth. Since its 2002 IPO however, Netflix's stock is way up, as is clear on the chart on the right.

The numbers to watch during Netflix's earnings are domestic and international subscribers, which have provoked wild swings of the stock after recent earnings reports.

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