TLDR
- Morgan Stanley reiterated a Buy rating with a $125 price target; consensus average target sits at $127.61, implying roughly 20% upside from the $107.78 close.
- Disney beat Q3 earnings estimates with $2.06 EPS vs. $1.86 expected, on revenue of $25.25 billion, up 6.8% year over year.
- New Mexico Educational Retirement Board added 5,600 shares, with institutional investors now holding 65.71% of the stock.
- Disney’s growth pipeline includes new park expansions, an Abu Dhabi resort concept, Disney+ content deals, and a new Walt Disney World resort opening July 2027.
- Two EVPs sold stock in August under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, while JPMorgan raised its price target to $140.
Walt Disney (DIS) opened at $108.15 on Friday, up 1.2% on the day, with a 52-week range between $92.18 and $119.78.
The stock trades at a P/E ratio of 22.30 and carries a market cap of $186.74 billion. Its 50-day moving average sits at $100.63, and the 200-day moving average is $101.58.
Analysts are broadly positive on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s Sean Diffley reiterated a Buy with a $125 target. JPMorgan raised its target from $139 to $140 with an Overweight rating. Wells Fargo lifted its target from $125 to $132, also Overweight. Truist set a $115 target, and Rosenblatt kept its Buy with a $126 target.
Out of 21 analysts tracked by MarketBeat, 16 rate DIS a Buy, one a Strong Buy, three a Hold, and one a Sell. The average price target is $127.61.
Disney’s most recent quarterly results, reported August 5th, came in ahead of expectations. The company posted adjusted EPS of $2.06, beating the $1.86 consensus by $0.20. Revenue came in at $25.25 billion, up 6.8% year over year, though slightly below the $25.39 billion estimate.
Return on equity was 9.90%, and net margin stood at 8.70%. Disney set FY2026 EPS guidance at $6.64, while analysts forecast $6.90 for the full year.
Content and Parks Pipeline
The D23 fan event laid out a packed slate including Avengers: Doomsday, The Bluey Movie, Toy Story 5, Lilo & Stitch, Kingdom Hearts IV, and a Fortnite tie-in. New sequels for Zootopia and Frozen are also in the pipeline, along with a live-action Tangled.
On the parks side, Disney announced Lakeshore Lodge, a new Walt Disney World resort set to open in July 2027. The property will feature waterfront accommodations, cottages, and a lazy river. A biome-based park concept in Abu Dhabi is also part of the longer-term expansion plan.
Disney+ and Hulu are partnering with iHeartMedia to bring video versions of six popular podcasts to its streaming platforms. Disney’s long-term streaming target is over $30 billion in revenue with 20%-plus EBIT margins within roughly five years.
Insider Activity and Institutional Moves
Two executives sold stock in August. EVP Paul M. Roeder sold 3,596 shares at $106.32 on August 19th, totaling $382,326. EVP Brent Woodford sold 7,238 shares at $105.31 on August 14th, totaling $762,233. Both sales were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Corporate insiders collectively own 0.17% of the stock.
On the institutional side, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake by 6.8%, adding 5,600 shares to bring its total to 88,155 shares, valued at approximately $8.5 million. Institutional investors overall own 65.71% of DIS.
CFO Hugh Johnston is scheduled to speak at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 9th.
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