Analysts Marvel At Disney's Box Office Potential This Year

For Walt Disney Co DIS, the end game to its string of successes isn’t in sight, analysts said coming out of a weekend in which the company’s “Avengers: Endgame” shattered box office records. Several reiterated their belief in strong upside potential for the company, which also has several other potential blockbusters in its pipeline.

Big Bucks At The Box Office

JPMorgan’s Alexia Quadrani raised the price target on Disney from $137 to $150. She has a Buy rating on the stock.

There’s “$3 billion reasons to pay attention to Disney,” said Bank of America’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich.

With “Endgame” smashing box office records on its debut, hitting more than $350 million domestically and $1.2 billion worldwide, it’s looking like it will easily top $2 billion.

“We believe 'Endgame' could be positioned to generate $2.7-$3.5bn in ultimate worldwide box office — potentially the largest film of all time should it surpass "Avatar’s" 3D-driven $2.8bn WWBO take,” Reif Ehrlich wrote in a note to investors. She maintained a Buy rating and a $168 price objective on the stock.

"We continue to see upside to shares even after an impressive (roughly) 20 percent increase since the Investor Day on April 8, given notable catalysts ahead,” said Quadrani.

Disney's stock closed Monday's session at $139.30 per share.

Rise Of Skywalker, Simba And Lightyear

But Tigress Financial’s Ivan Feinseth noted that even though it’s the end game for the Marvel Universe franchise, there’s more to come from Disney, which will release "Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker," this December, and that could hit $2 billion as well.

“The results of these two movies could help Disney easily do more than $7 billion in box office revenue this year,” Feinseth wrote in his newsletter to investors. But it’s not just the box office – Feinseth said strong movie offerings also could drive subscriptions for Disney’s recently announced streaming service, Disney Plus.

Feinseth reiterated a Buy rating on Disney.

If super heroes and resistance to the Empire aren’t everyone’s things, no worries – there’s still more coming to screens. "Aladdin" is due out in May, "Toy Story" 4 from Pixar is out in June, followed by "The Lion King" in July.

All three analysts also touted the potential for strong theme park attendance this year, following major park expansions. Disneyland and Walt Disney World will both add Star Wars Land attractions this summer.

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