Just last week, we were seeing how entertainment giant Disney (DIS) managed to land a hefty win for its new Thunderbolts* movie, and wondering if this win would be temporary, or have some legs. Based on its second weekend, the news is looking good for this latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the numbers were only a little off of what they were last week. That, plus a new China trade deal, was good enough for Disney investors, who sent shares vaulting up over 4% in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The first weekend for Thunderbolts* proved to be a winner, and the second weekend was none too shabby in its own right, as it added another $33.1 million to its totals for its second weekend in theaters. Great news, and it gets better: so far, Thunderbolts*‘s world-wide grosses stand at $272 million. Despite this clear win, it actually did hurt a bit, as industry estimates were looking for its second weekend to come in a little higher than $33.1 million.
Further, we even got an explanation on what the asterisk in the title means. As it turns out, Thunderbolts* has the alternate title of The New Avengers. That turns out to be a bit of a spoiler for some future work, but with Disney looking to win back some fans that it has lost over the years, a bit of a spoiler for something like this might be just what is needed to fire up fans’ interest in the series.
Disney Goes Abu Dhabi
If the first thing you think of when you hear the name “Abu Dhabi” is the song from the old Garfield & Friends cartoon, you are not alone. But increasingly, Abu Dhabi is becoming known for something more: amusement parks. And Disney is helping to make that happen with the rise of Yas Island, a man-made island that is now home to four different theme parks: Ferrari’s (RACE) Ferrari World, Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Warner Bros. World, SeaWorld Yas Island and Yas Waterworld.
With 80% of the world’s population living roughly six to eight hours away from the area by plane, it represents a substantial potential market, as demonstrated by the sheer number of facilities already in place. So while Disney may be a bit behind the curve on this development, it is getting a toehold in the field all the same, and a piece of the market share it represents.
Is Disney Stock a Buy or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on DIS stock based on 13 Buys and four Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 0.1% rally in its share price over the past year, the average DIS price target of $123 per share implies 11.39% upside potential.
