Is Spark Networks The Next Netflix?

Not long ago, the once-unstoppable Netflix had fallen to only $50 a share. It was a low point in the history of a company billed as the future of film and television, but the lull didn't last. Netflix quadrupled in value over the last seven months and is now back on top, trading at more than $217 a share.

The rise and fall of Netflix is the stuff of legends. "I've never had a stock quadruple in seven months - to my recollection, any way - in my 15 years of managing money," said Whitney Tilson, founder and Managing Partner of Kase Capital. "Back in October, I said, 'I think Netflix this decade is going to be like Amazon last decade - a stock that can just continue to grow and grow with enormous upside optionality.'"

So if Netflix is the new Amazon, then who is the new Netflix?

Spark Networks is ready to step up to the plate. You may not have heard of Spark Networks, but you definitely know the company's two most famous offspring: Christian Mingle and JDate.

Like Netflix before it, Spark Networks is an Internet-based company with nearly unlimited potential. But instead of expending energy to realize all of that potential right away, both Netflix and Sparks chose to channel current profits from an existing lucrative business into a future growth opportunity.

The major difference between Spark Networks and Netflix is size. Spark Networks is a significantly smaller company than Netflix, and though JDate has been around for over a decade and brings in a great deal of money for the company, the Jewish dating site's growth has stopped. Christian Mingle is nearly identical to JDate and targets a much larger market (30 times larger, in fact), but it is not yet profitable.

Tilson is confident that bigger and better things are in store for the company. "Christian Mingle - if you think it's addressing a market 30 times the size of JDate, has upside, you know, that could make this stock a multi-bagger," he says. "It's a pretty exciting growth story." In the last quarter, revenue grew 45% year-over-year, putting Christian Mingle and Spark Networks on a rapid growth trajectory. Add that to the success of JDate, and Tilson expects stock to double.

The question is: what's in the future for the company? The answer depends on who you ask.

Some think Facebook, which recently acquired a new social dating app, could mean the end of Spark Networks. Tilson isn't so sure. He thinks the future of Spark Networks lies with IAC, the company that owns Match.com.

"I think IAC is the most logical buyer for Spark, and it would be a tiny bite-sized acquisition," he says. He considers Facebook. Yahoo, and Google close seconds to purchase Spark Networks and usher in the next era of the company..

To find out more about these 2 dating sites you can read our review of JDate and Christian Mingle.