A while back, some new leaks emerged about the upcoming anime lineup at streaming giant Netflix (NFLX). Some live-action stuff got leaked as well, and that represented a hefty loss of the element of surprise at Netflix. Now, Netflix wants its pound of flesh, noted a Comicbook.com report, and has subpoenaed Discord in a bid to find the leaker. The news did not sit well with investors, however, and shares dropped nearly 3.5% in the closing minutes of Monday’s session.
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Netflix’s Fall 2024 anime schedule was packed with exciting news, including the release of such content as Dandadan and Re: Zero—Starting Life in Another World. But the problem was that fans found out about the news far, far too early, with the leaks revealing the planned releases back in Summer 2024. Now, Netflix, through the Northern District of California court, has issued a subpoena to chat platform Discord, obliging it to reveal the identities of certain potential leakers.
Right now, the case is mainly connected to “@jacejohns4n,” which relates to an image of Squid Game‘s second season that said user posted. The leak was regarded as “the biggest anime leak seen in years,” according to the Comicbook.com report, and likely cost Netflix a lot of time and money in terms of building hype that had now been broken with the unexpected reveal.
And Then The Cuts Started
But then, Netflix launched into a series of moves that likely will not endear it to its own customers: cutting several properties. A GameRant report noted that starting December 13, Netflix will no longer offer Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on its game streaming platform. However, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be remaining, with no clear removal date, so the news is not all bad there.
One other cut, meanwhile, will hit harder than the rest for some. The popular series Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World will be canceled after one season. This is particularly disquieting, as the series not only had a surprising following among critics but also had a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%, suggesting that viewers were pretty into it too. The problem seems to be that creators meant for the series to be a one-season run and thus have nothing left to put in it.
Is Netflix Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on NFLX stock based on 24 Buys, 10 Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 81% rally in its share price over the past year, the average NFLX price target of $816.17 per share implies 5.71% downside risk.
