US STOCKS-Futures drop, but Netflix rallies early

* Wall St on an uptrend; Nasdaq near record

* Netflix (Xetra: 552484 - news) rallies after results, SanDisk (NasdaqGS: SNDK - news) lower

* Jobless claims seen dropping by 1,000 in latest week

* Futures down: Dow 52 pts, S&P 7.5 pts, Nasdaq 10.5 pts

By Ryan Vlastelica

April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Thursday as investors continued to digest a corporate reporting season that has come in ahead of profit expectations but shows little in the way of organic growth.

* Of the 36 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported thus far, 81 percent have exceeded profit expectations, over the long-term average of 63 percent. Only 47 have beaten on revenue, however, below the historical average of 61 percent. That suggests companies are boosting their bottomlines with cost cuts rather than through business expansion.

* Among the positive reports, UnitedHealth Group Inc on Thursday reported strong earnings and revenue growth, sending shares up 3.5 percent to $121.44 in light premarket trading. Netflix Inc late Wednesday added more subscribers than projected in the first quarter, sending shares up 12 percent to $533.15 before the bell.

* On the downside, SanDisk Corp fell 9.3 percent to 464.50 in heavy premarket trading a day after forecasting a steeper-than-expected fall in full-year revenue.

* First (Other OTC: FSTC - news) -quarter profits for S&P 500 companies are seen falling 2.6 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data, eroded by low oil prices, a strong dollar and extreme weather in the eastern United States.

* Energy shares may continue to be volatile as U.S. crude futures dropped 1.9 percent to $55.31 a barrel. That follows a rise of 5.8 percent on Wednesday, the fifth day of gains for the commodity.

* Wall Street has been on an uptrend of late, with the S&P 500 rising in seven of the past nine sessions. Wednesday's gains brought the Nasdaq within striking distance of its record-high close of 5,048.62 in 2000.

* Data on jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT). Claims are seen falling by 1,000 to 280,000 in the latest week.

Futures snapshot at 6:54 a.m. EDT (1054 GMT):

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 7.5 points, or 0.36 percent, with 97,363 contracts changing hands.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 10.5 points, or 0.24 percent, in volume of 12,351 contracts.

* Dow e-minis were down 52 points, or 0.29 percent, with 17,082 contracts changing hands. (Editing by Bernadette Baum)