Netflix Stock on the rise?

Another day of consolidation for the ASX ending what was a strong week and a great start to 2023. The ASX traded in the red early in the day, before closing 0.2% or 16.9 pts higher to 7,452.20. The ASX200 ended the week 2.36% higher with the Healthcare sector leading the way.

Seven of the eleven sectors ended the day in the green. Leading the way was the Energy sector, which rose by 1.4%. The Telco sector fell the most on the day, dropping by 0.9%

Both Pilbara Minerals and Whitehaven Coal saw their stock prices increase by 6.16% and 13.18% respectively, making them the best-performing stocks in this index.

Economic News

The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell by 15,000 from the previous week to 190,000 in the week ending January 14th, the lowest in four months and far below market expectations of 214,000.

According to a preliminary estimate, building permits in the United States fell 1.6 per cent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.33 million in December 2022, the lowest level since May 2020 and below market expectations of 1.37 million.

Housing starts in the United States fell 1.4% in December 2022 to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.382 million, the lowest level in five months but higher than market expectations of 1.359 million.

Quick Singles

• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price increased by 13.2% to $4.55 yesterday, after the company reported its December 2022 quarterly report yesterday.

• The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that business turnover declined in eight of thirteen industries in November 2022.

• Leaf Resources (ASX:LER) has been suspended from trading pending clarification of the recent non-binding Letter of Intent for the purchase of premium wood pellets.

• Coal stocks were winners today with, Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) (+6.16%), Yancoal (ASX:YAL) (+4.72%), and New Hope (ASX:NHC) (+2.74%) all increased in price.

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Top Story

Netflix shares rise after hours

Shares in the world's largest streaming service provider Netflix soared in after-hours trade after issuing their fourth-quarter earnings result. Netflix's shares rose by 7.1% to $338.25 reaching a six-month high

Netflix reported the below key metrics in its' Q4 2022 report:

• revenue increased 1.9% YoY to $7,852 million.

• operating income declined 13% to US$550 million

• operating margin fell from 8.2% to 7%.

• net income decreased by 91% to US$55 million.

The introduction of Netflix's ad-supported plan should be seen as a positive from the quarter. While the company has not disclosed the specifics of ad performance thus far, it may have contributed to the 7.7 million net member additions in the fourth quarter. This rise beat analyst expectations of 4.6 million.

At the end of 2022, the streaming giant's entire global membership base reached over 230 million after a period of robust growth.

Movers and Shakers

✅Biggest Winners

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX: FPH) share price was up 4.9% to $24.32 after releasing its' FY23 earnings for the period ending March 2023. In the announcement, the company said that it anticipates full-year operating revenue for the 2023 fiscal year to be between NZ$1.55 billion and NZ$1.60 billion. Despite the fact that this will be somewhat lower than FY 2022's operating revenue of NZ$1.68 billion, it appears to be better than anticipated.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price increased by 6.2% to $9.48 after the coal miner reported strong prices in its second quarter announcement. The company consequently set a record-breaking high coal price for the first half of the year. In light of this, management anticipates that first-half operating earnings would more than treble.

❌ Biggest Losers 

Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price was down 8.3% to $1.38 following a revision to the capital expenditure estimate for the Kathleen Valley lithium project. The costs are now anticipated to exceed the company's cash on hand and lending facilities, which has generated fears of a potential capital raise.

Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) share price was down 1.3% to $1.57. This looks to have been caused by a broker note from Citi Group. According to the note, analysts have lowered the shares of the alumina manufacturer to a sell rating and reduced their price objective to $1.50. As a result of a disappointing quarterly update and the broker's expectation that alumina prices will be approaching breakeven, it is unlikely that the company will pay a dividend.

Small-Cap of the Day

Lincoln Minerals back on the market

The share price of Lincoln Minerals Ltd (ASX:LML) increased by an astounding 125% to $0.02 after re-listing on the ASX yesterday after completing its non-renounceable rights offer of 67 new shares for every 50 shares held earlier in the month

Lincoln Minerals Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Australia

That's it from the team at ASX-News today. We hope you enjoyed our EOD wrap-up. Good night and happy investing!