Just one day after Yahoo officially announced PayPal President Scott Thompson as their new CEO, speculation is running rampant that one of his first moves at helm could be to purchase Netflix. This speculation is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to a recent appearance by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster on CNBC.
Yahoo's decision to go with Thompson was questioned by many shortly after the announcement. While Thompson has done a great job with PayPal, Wall Street is concerned that he has no media background and has never been a CEO. Since the announcement, Yahoo shares have fallen to $15.59 as of writing. Stocks were trading at $16.35 before Thompson was named CEO.
Based on his lack of media background, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster feels that Yahoo is in a better place now because of Thompson. He noted that during a conference call with Thompson, the new CEO mentioned several times that Yahoo needs to amp up the amount of media, content and engagement on the site. Munster, wondering out loud during the interview, questioned if they should buy Netflix. He felt it would make a lot of sense because Yahoo could acquire Netflix "on the cheap" right now.
Netflix shares, on the other hand, have shot through the roof based on Munster's speculation. Shares were trading just north of $73 yesterday while they are currently commanding over $80 as of writing.