Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 price objective on the entertainment giant’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.68% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Monday, September 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $126.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walt Disney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.06.

Walt Disney Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:DIS traded up $1.04 on Friday, reaching $108.06. The company had a trading volume of 7,149,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,205,846. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.99. Walt Disney has a twelve month low of $92.18 and a twelve month high of $117.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The entertainment giant reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.20. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 8.70%.The business had revenue of $25.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Walt Disney has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.642-6.642 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walt Disney will post 6.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other news, EVP Paul Roeder sold 3,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.32, for a total transaction of $382,326.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 3,618 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $381,011.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 62,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,634,003.45. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 18,070 shares of company stock worth $1,913,168 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DIS. Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 66.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,883 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,530 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,516,177 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $172,495,000 after purchasing an additional 78,914 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at about $4,092,000. Windsor Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walt Disney by 297.9% during the first quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,082 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 7,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney during the 1st quarter worth about $694,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Walt Disney

Here are the key news stories impacting Walt Disney this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set a $125 price target, implying roughly 15.7% upside from the referenced trading level. The bullish view adds support to sentiment as investors assess Disney’s streaming, parks and content businesses.
• Positive Sentiment: Disney+ will stream the 2027 Super Bowl, giving the company a major opportunity to collect valuable viewing data, strengthen its advertising business and promote Disney’s streaming platform. Why Disney’s Super Bowl Streaming Plan Is a Bigger Deal Than It Seems
• Positive Sentiment: Disney is pitching its Infinity Vision premium large-format cinema system to Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate and Sony. If adopted, the format could give Disney more influence over theatrical presentation and create incremental licensing or participation revenue, although it must compete with IMAX. Walt Disney Unveils Infinity Vision For Big Screen Releases
• Positive Sentiment: Theme-park demand appears resilient: Disney World’s premium Lightning Lane passes reportedly sold out ahead of a busy weekend, while higher character-dining and buffet prices indicate continued pricing power. These trends could support parks revenue and margins. Disney World Runs out of Line-Skipping Passes
• Neutral Sentiment: Disney’s licensing of content to Netflix signals a more flexible streaming strategy that may improve monetization and reach, but it could also reduce exclusivity for Disney+ content. Disney Is Opening the Door to Netflix
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Brent Woodford sold 3,618 DIS shares for approximately $381,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance and he retains a substantial stake, it is a limited bearish signal rather than evidence of a fundamental change.

About Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is a global entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes branded content across film, television, streaming and other media platforms. Its portfolio includes Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and 20th Century Studios, as well as ABC, Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN. The company also licenses its characters and intellectual property for consumer products, games and other experiences.

Disney operates theme parks, resorts and cruise lines through its Experiences business.