Disney faced one of its toughest years ever in 2020. The pandemic and lockdowns crippled the Mouse House on nearly all sides: theme parks, cruises and movie theaters.
The single bright spot was Disney Plus, which was a stroke of serendipity that launched a few months before the pandemic struck. Had the Disney Plus launch been delayed, 2020 could have been even more catastrophic for Disney.
But fast forward to Summer 2021, and everything seems to be coming up Disney.
Theme Park attendance is inching back toward pre-pandemic levels. Disney Cruise Line is coming back, despite some initial setbacks. And Black Widow made $80 million at the box office, and an alleged $60 million via Disney Plus Premiere Access.
As such, Disney stock will likely surge again. Just last Spring, Disney stock plummeted to under $100 a share as investors were clearly nervous abut the company’s future.
According to JPMorgan, Disney stock could see a surge of 24% as the company comes back online. JPMorgan has a price target of $220 per share for Disney.
From CNBC…
Analyst Alexia Quadrani reaffirmed Disney as a top pick in her industry, saying in a note to clients on Monday that the stock looked cheap even as the the subscriber growth for Disney+ appears to be slowing.
“With its continued digital transformation and recovery at the legacy business, Disney remains our top pick in media in 2021, and we view current levels as a particularly favorable entry point for the long-term investor,” the note said.
Quadrani projects that the movie box office piece of Disney’s business will recover after the second half of the year and for the company to move back toward exclusive theater releases even after Marvel’s “Black Widow” made $60 million from home viewing last weekend.
Despite this, Disney stock has slipped 2% in the broader market this year. Disney Plus subscriptions seem to be slowing down as well, but the platform has still bested expectations overall.
Disney has a long way to go to fully recover, but it does seem to be on the road to recovery.
[Source: CNBC]
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