<div id="subtitle">Netflix shares soar after co reports strong 4th-quarter results and subscriber growth</div><div><p>Netflix Inc. shares soared in premarket trading Thursday after the DVD-by-mail service's fourth-quarter earnings blew past Wall Street expectations.</p><p>The stock jumped $10.45, or 21 percent, to $61.42, ahead of the regular session.</p><p>Fourth-quarter results show the company's "momentum is stronger than ever, driven by excellent execution amid a very favorable competitive environment," Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali said in a note to investors.</p><p>Netflix has been surging past competitors such as Blockbuster Inc., luring droves of new customers with its streaming video service online.</p><p>Squali upgraded the company to "Buy" from "Hold." Merriman Curhan Ford raised Netflix to "Buy" from "Neutral," and Kaufman Bros. raised its price target for the company's stock to $69 from $55.</p><p>Netflix said after the closing bell Wednesday that it now has more than 12 million subscribers. It added a record 1.1 million customers during the fourth quarter and earned 56 cents per share, compared with the average forecast from analysts of 45 cents, according to Thomson Reuters.</p><p>The Los Gatos, Calif. company also gave an upbeat forecast, predicting it will win another 1.2 million to 1.5 million customers by the end of March.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=67968174&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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