Shares of Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) headed for their worst day in two years on Tuesday, falling as much as 14 percent after reporting a surprise shortfall in new subscribers in a quarter marked by the lack of a blockbuster new show and World Cup soccer.
While Wall Street remains overwhelmingly positive on Netflix and its role in video streaming globally, the second quarter figures did raise question marks over future growth and six brokerages cut their price targets on the company's shares.
"The quarter is a reminder that Netflix's cadence of net adds is not linear, but lumpy in nature," said Justin Patterson, an analyst with Raymond James and Associates in San Francisco, while pointing to the absence of a new hit series as a driver.
"The company had lots of new content during the quarter; what it did not have was a major new breakout series."
Riding on the success of its original shows such as "13 Reasons Why," "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," Netflix had beaten subscriber growth expectations in seven out of last 10 quarters.
The stock price doubled in the last year, raising its value to within sight of $200 billion as of Monday's close.
