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Netflix Inc.’s 12-month price target was increased to $245 from $230 at MKM Partners on Thursday. MKM analyst Rob Sanderson raised his subscriber outlook for Netflix for 2018, saying the company has yet to reach its peak year for total subscriber additions. “We continue to view Netflix as the large cap with the most potential for market cap appreciation over the next three to four years,” Sanderson wrote in a note to investors. Sanderson said he expects Netflix to add 20.6 million subscribers next year, which is roughly in line with FactSet consensus of 20.9 million, but would be down from 2017 consensus of 22.0 million subscriber additions. This year was expected to be the streaming service’s peak for subscriber additions, but Sanderson said it’s more likely to come in 2019 or 2020. “We think Netflix has a large first mover advantage, expecting to spend $7 billion to $8 billion next year, far more than any other programmer,” Sanderson wrote. “A larger budget means more content and a better value proposition, which in turn means more subscribers.” Shares of Netflix were up 1% in premarket trade, and have gained 52% in the year to date. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up more than 17% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 21%.

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Apple Inc. shares rose 0.5% in premarket trading Thursday, after an analyst suggested that the latest iPhone technology will drive a multi-year wave of device upgrades. Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson wrote Thursday that Apple could come out with slightly enhanced version of the iPhone X next fall, including a larger-screen option, and cut the price of the original model that was released in early November. The combination of these factors could drive a “super-long cycle” of upgrades, beyond the single-year “super-cycle” investors were hoping for. “We believe an elongated iPhone cycle in FY18, followed by a wider array of iPhone X ‘offspring’ in Fall 2018, along with growing awareness and interest in augmented reality (fueled by developers populating the App Store with new use cases and, longer-term, addition of rear facing 3D sensor), will all push out the need for Apple to answer the question of ‘what’s next?'” Olson wrote. With overall global smartphone sales expanding slowly, Apple has been under some pressure to find new avenues for growth. Apple’s stock is up 46% so far in 2017, compared with a 21% rise for the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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Shares of Facebook Inc. rose 0.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after MKM Partners analyst Rob Sanderson boosted his price target to become the most bullish on the social media company, on the belief that the stock already reflects a material slowdown in revenue. Sanderson lifted his price target to $240, which is now the highest target of the 46 analysts surveyed by FactSet, from $200, saying the stock is set up for Facebook to be the best investment among mega-capitalization companies. Consensus expectations for revenue growth deceleration appears “overly conservative” and expectations of a ramp in expenses appears “overly aggressive,” Sanderson said. “Together we think this is an attractive set up: a further de-rating is unlikely,…implying that growth alone will carry the stock higher, but we also think EPS upside is likely,” Sanderson wrote in a note to clients. The stock has lost 4.3% in the past two sessions, amid a broad selloff in the technology sector, after closing at a record $183.03 on Monday. It has soared 52% year to date, while the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has run up 31% and the S&P 500 has climbed 17%.

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MKM Partners raised its stock price target for Amazon.com Inc. on Thursday, and said it remains its top long-term growth story among large-cap stocks. Analyst Rob Sanderson raised his price target to $1,350 from $1,275, equal to 16% above its current trading level. “We think the commerce businesses can grow to mid-single-digit operating margin by 2022, with AWS growing to 33%,” Sanderson wrote in a note, referring to Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud business. “We discount our forward earnings power by an aggressive 25% per year to reflect inherently high risk in long duration/ low visibility projections on future margin structure.” DA Davidson currently has the highest stock price target for Amazon of analysts on FactSet, at $1,500. Amazon shares were up 0.8% in premarket trade Thursday, and have gained 55% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

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Express Inc. shares jumped 2.4% in premarket trade Thursday, after the apparel retailer posted better-than-expected sales for the third quarter. Express said it had net income of $6.3 million, or 8 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $11.6 million, or 15 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales edged down 1% to $498.7 million from $506.1 million, while same-store sales fell 1%. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 8 cents, sales of $488 million and a same-store sales decline of 2.2%. The company said the hurricanes shaved 2 cents off EPS and lowered sales by 1%. “We enter the important holiday season with positive momentum and are confident that our assortment and fashion are resonating well with our customers based on the continued strength in our e-commerce business and improving store performance,” Chief Executive David Kornberg said in a statement. Looking ahead, the company is expecting fourth-quarter same-store sales to be up in the low single digits, and for EPS to range from 40 cents to 44 cents. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of 41 cents and same-store sales growth of 2.2%. Shares have fallen 14% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

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Shares of Sears Holdings Corp. shot up 9.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after the troubled department store chain reported fiscal third-quarter losses that narrowed from a year ago. The net loss for the quarter to Oct. 28 was $558 million, or $5.19 a share, compared with $748 million, or $6.99 a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue fell to $3.66 billion from $5.03 billion, with store closures contributing to over half of the decline. Also hurting sales were reductions in pharmacies at Kmart stores and the reduction of consumer electronics assortments in both Kmart and Sears stores. Same-store sales fell 15.3%, amid a 13.0% decline at Kmart stores and a 17.0% decrease at Sears stores. There weren’t enough analyst estimates provided to FactSet to produce consensus estimates for Sears’ results. There were 510 Kmart stores and 594 Sears stores, for a total of 1,104 stores as of Oct. 28, compared with 801 Kmart stores and 702 Sears stores, for a total of 1,503 stores a year ago. Sears said it would continue to look to diversify revenue streams through third-party partnerships, and look to build on momentum around appliances and mattresses. The stock had tumbled 55% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 had climbed 17%.

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Saudi Arabia oil minister Khalid A. Al-Falih early on Thursday hinted that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree to extend its output agreement by another nine months. The current deal is currently slated to expire in March next year, but OPEC and a group of non-cartel members are Thursday meeting in Vienna to discuss whether to extend the deal. Speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting. Al-Falih said there is “perfect alignment” between the OPEC members and that he prefers a nine-month extension until the end of the 2018. “History says that as you get closer to the goal, commitment wavers. I call on you all to stay the course, rather than relying on others,” Al-Falih said, according to media reports. He cautioned, however, that if an unexpected event takes place during the year, the oil producers should be able to consider a review in June. Al-Falih said that any exit from the output accord is going to be very gradual. Ahead of the decision, Iraq also said it agrees to a nine-month extension. Oil prices were higher as the meeting kicked off, with crude oil up 0.9% at $57.85 a barrel and Brent 1.1% higher at $63.24.

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Brexit negotiators are nearing a breakthrough on the issue of the Northern Ireland border, making it possible for the EU to offer a fast-tracked transition deal to the U.K. by January, the Times newspaper reported Thursday. British officials have put forward a proposal to avoid a “hard border” between the U.K. province and the Republic of Ireland, the report said. In the past, the EU has said it needs to see progress on three issues — including the border — before withdrawal talks can move on to deal with trade and a transition period. The two other areas are EU citizens’ rights and the U.K.’s exit bill. Earlier this week, media reports said London and Brussels had agreed on a Brexit divorce bill of around €50 billion, a significantly higher British offer. These developments are seen as helping lift the deadlock on Brexit talks, which had sparked concerns the U.K. would crash out of the EU without a trade deal.

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Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators spoke to White House senior adviser — and the president’s son-in-law — Jared Kushner earlier this month and discussed the role of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, CNN reported Wednesday night. Flynn is said to be one of the targets of Mueller’s probe into Russian election meddling, and Kushner’s attorney told CNN that he “voluntarily cooperated” in a meeting that lasted less than 90 minutes. One source told CNN that the aim of the meeting was to make sure Kushner did not have information that could exonerate Flynn. Separately, CNN reported Wednesday that Mueller’s team has postponed grand jury testimony regarding Flynn, leading to speculation that he had struck a plea deal. Last week, Flynn’s attorneys told President Donald Trump’s legal team that they would stop sharing information about the investigation, another move that suggests a plea deal is in the works.

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Juniper Inc. shares lost most of a big after-hours bounce Wednesday evening after Nokia Corp. denied reports that it was considering acquiring the networking company for $16 billion. “Nokia is not currently in talks with, nor is it preparing an offer for, Juniper Networks related to an acquisition of that company,” the company said in a prepared statement. After CNBC reported that the Finnish company was in talks to acquire Juniper early in Wednesday’s after-hours session, Juniper shares had jumped 20% or more. After Nokia publicly denied the report, Juniper gave up most of those gains, with shares trading about 4% higher than the closing price a few minutes after Nokia’s denial.

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