Out Fox The $treet

Netflix (NFLX) remains on a path to generate record subscriber additions for the year which should send the stock back to previous highs. As the year progresses, the free cash flow burn will become a huge problem as new streaming competition from Disney (DIS) and WarnerMedia (T) comes online.

The streaming video wars should reach peak competitive levels in 2019. Netflix enters the competition while burning cash at a $3 billion annual rate. The entry of the tech giants leaves Netflix at a balance sheet disadvantage with net debt approaching $10 billion in 2019. The stock is due for another rally in early 2019 for investors to fade. The planed addition of several tech giants along with traditional media players into the direct-to-consumer streaming video segment should expose the biggest weakness of leader  Netflix  ( NFLX ). The problems with developing a leading market position without building up a pristine balance sheet is that competitors can easily attack the company's weakness and ultimately prevent a player like Netflix from achieving the massive cash flows and profits warranting a market valuation of $132 billion. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.

Netflix (NFLX) has been a favorite short target of Stone Fox for a while. Luckily we've never engaged in more then short term short positions on this stock as its been one of the bright performers during this recession. The recession and high gas prices has in fact likely helped business as consumers have migrated to the cheapest forms of entertainment - DVD rentals via mail. It saves gas and eliminates late fees all for a low monthly subscription fee. Getting DVDs via the mail is clearly a doomed business as even highlighted by the CEO in this Wall Street Journal interview . It's actually pretty incredible that the business model as done so well considering the huge competition in the DVD rental space and the fact that renting by mail was actually seen as a step back for that market. After all, why wait days for a item via the mail when you could just stop at the local store and pick up whatever you wanted and the price of $2-4 per rental didn't seem overly costly. That...