What To Make Of Dan Loeb's New Stake In Disney

Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb and his Third Point fund bought a new stake in Walt Disney Co DIS in part because there is "no close second" in the entertainment and media universe, CNBC's Scott Wapner reported on "Halftime Report."

Disney Is 2013 Microsoft: The Disney of today is similar to the 2013 Microsoft Corporation MSFT, Loeb told Wapner. Specifically, Microsoft pivoted into new markets and re-invented itself.

Loeb also believes the COVID-19 pandemic provided Disney with an opportunity to accelerate the delivery of its content to consumers through its online streaming unit, Disney+.

Stable Stock Price: Disney's stock hit a low of around $85 in March amid the broader market selloff but has since recovered and has been trading in a narrow range for the past few months, "Halftime Report" regular Josh Brown said. As such, investors who felt the COVID-19 pandemic represents an existential threat to the media and entertainment company had plenty of time to sell the stock.

After the bears got out of the stock, the remaining shareholders are for the most part people who "agree with everything" Loeb had to say and will wait out any near-term disruptions.

Fair Comparison To Nadella: Prior to Satya Nadella taking over as Microsoft CEO, the tech giant had a "hard time moving anywhere" and the stock was hovering in the $30s, Pete Najarian said. Once Nadella took over, he presented a vision to transform into a cloud company.

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger similarly presented a vision for Disney to leverage and maximize output from all the different units.

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