Disney Stock Price Climbs After Star Wars Hits $238 Million In Weekend Sales

Walt Disney Co DIS rose 1.2 percent in Monday's pre-market trading session, after Star Wars grossed $238 million in weekend box office sales in the U.S. and overseas. Analysts at Bank of America Merryl Lynch maintained their BUY rating and $130.00 price target. BofA Merryl Lynch views that the early success of The Force presents a DIS model, which can further monetize Star Wars content through its Consumer Products, Theme Park and Interactive business lines, as well as through future Star Wars film releases such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (releasing December 2016). The firm released their analyst report Monday. "We continue to believe DIS offers compelling exposure to an unparalleled catalyst pipeline for upward estimate revision," the firm commented. FBR & Company updated their rating on Disney to Outperform with a $107.00 price target. "Disney bears are arguing that upside in Force Awakens is not enough to offset their concerns for ESPN, meaning that consensus is too high and that the stock should be sold. We provide here some context to rebut these concerns and reiterate our belief that consensus will tend to move up for FY16 and beyond," noted FBR & Company in their research report on Monday. The Force now has the highest opening weekend in December history, the highest opening weekend ever, the largest Thursday night preview, the largest Friday, opening day and single day, and is the fastest film to gross $100mn.