Walt Disney’s (DIS) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $125.00 target price on the entertainment giant’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 16.43% from the stock’s current price.

DIS has been the subject of several other research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Walt Disney from $120.00 to $119.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walt Disney from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.06.

Walt Disney Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE DIS opened at $107.36 on Friday. Walt Disney has a 52 week low of $92.18 and a 52 week high of $117.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $105.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $185.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The entertainment giant reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.20. Walt Disney had a net margin of 8.70% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The company had revenue of $25.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. Walt Disney’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Walt Disney has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.642-6.642 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walt Disney will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 3,618 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total value of $387,596.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,328 shares in the company, valued at $6,677,198.64. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paul M. Roeder sold 3,596 shares of Walt Disney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.32, for a total value of $382,326.72. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 14,452 shares of company stock worth $1,532,157 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DIS. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 1.0% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 521,790 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $54,736,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 113,062 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $10,804,000 after buying an additional 34,219 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walt Disney by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 24,510 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,523,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Walt Disney by 201.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,938 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in Walt Disney by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,125 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 13,089 shares during the last quarter. 65.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walt Disney News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Disney+ will stream the 2027 Super Bowl. The game will be available to all U.S. Disney+ subscribers, alongside its traditional ESPN and ABC broadcasts. The event could drive subscriber engagement, provide valuable viewing data and create new digital advertising opportunities. Disney+ to stream upcoming Super Bowl
• Positive Sentiment: Disney is pitching its Infinity Vision premium-screen format to rival studios. The proposed network, involving thousands of screens globally, could give Disney greater influence over how major releases reach audiences and potentially create a new source of theatrical revenue. Disney pitches rival studios on Infinity Vision large-screen format
• Positive Sentiment: Disney raised prices at its U.S. theme parks while keeping many increases relatively modest. Higher ticket and premium-experience prices could support per-guest spending and Parks profitability, although demand remains an important consideration. Disneyland and Disney World price changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush sees no immediate threat to IMAX from Disney’s proposed format. That assessment suggests Infinity Vision remains an early-stage strategic initiative rather than a near-term earnings driver, while it could still pressure the valuation of IMAX if widely adopted. Wedbush assessment of Disney’s IMAX rival
• Neutral Sentiment: Disney continues reshaping its content-distribution model. Licensing selected titles to Netflix may generate cash and expand audience reach, but it also highlights the pressure on Disney to balance Disney+ growth with near-term profitability. Disney’s changing streaming strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Disney’s dispute with the FCC has moved into the courts. Ongoing regulatory litigation creates legal uncertainty and could add costs or constrain management’s flexibility around ABC and other media assets. Disney and FCC court dispute

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.