Wednesday's pullback in Netflix should have investors scrambling to buy the stock, says Evercore ISI technician Rich Ross.
Netflix shares dipped by a bit less than 1 percent in early Wednesday trading, its first down day in the past five.
"That's your opportunity," Ross said Wednesday on CNBC's "Trading Nation." "You want to buy any weakness as that big breakout consolidates."
Just how much upside could be ahead for Netflix, which opened at $151.53 on Wednesday? "We'll show you why this is a stock that can trade at $180," the technician said. This price target implies a 19 percent rally for the stock.
The first thing Ross points out in the chart of Netflix is the "really nice advance coming out of the presidential election" from November into early 2017. The "bottom" of that rally was $110, with the top of the rally at around $142, a $32 move upward.
The second thing Ross sees is a "textbook flag formation" from February to April of this year, when the stock traded sideways. But while Netflix shares did pull back on Wednesday, they had broken out of consolidation just the day before, giving Ross reason to believe that the charts are pointing to a move up for Netflix.
"The thinking is that the flag formation flies at half mast, roughly halfway within the move."
That is to say, Ross's $180 price target is a function of his prediction that the stock will make another $32-or-so move up from Tuesday's levels — essentially mirroring the rally from November to February and taking Netflix to another all-time high.
Fundamental analysts are also bullish. The median price target on the stock is $160, according to data compiled by FactSet.
In March, Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger initiated coverage of the stock with an "outperform" rating and a $178 price target, memorably comparing the stock to Jesus Christ: "You either believe or you don't. We do."
Netflix is one of the best-performing tech stocks this year, rising 22 percent year to date.
