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

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $125.00 target price on the entertainment giant's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 16.16% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on DIS. Truist Financial set a $115.00 target price on Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $126.00 price objective on shares of Walt Disney in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walt Disney from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walt Disney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.06.

Walt Disney Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DIS opened at $107.61 on Friday. Walt Disney has a 1-year low of $92.18 and a 1-year high of $117.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.41. The business's 50 day moving average is $105.12 and its 200-day moving average is $101.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The entertainment giant reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $25.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.39 billion. Walt Disney had a return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 8.70%.Walt Disney's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Walt Disney has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.642-6.642 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walt Disney will post 6.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul M. Roeder sold 3,596 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.32, for a total transaction of $382,326.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brent Woodford sold 3,618 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.13, for a total value of $387,596.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,328 shares in the company, valued at $6,677,198.64. This represents a 5.49% 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 have sold 14,452 shares of company stock worth $1,532,157 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Walt Disney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 83,873,646 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $9,604,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853,897 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 9,060.1% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 38,135,363 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $4,338,660,000 after purchasing an additional 37,719,041 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,106,105 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $1,718,622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Walt Disney in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,386,720,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Walt Disney by 13.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 14,272,449 shares of the entertainment giant's stock valued at $1,375,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703,264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.71% of the company's stock.

Walt Disney News Roundup

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 16.4% upside from the referenced $107.36 price. The endorsement supports the view that Disney’s restructuring, cash-flow focus and improving businesses justify a higher valuation. Needham reaffirms buy rating on Walt Disney
• Positive Sentiment: Disney+ will stream the 2027 Super Bowl, alongside the traditional ESPN and ABC broadcasts, and will carry two preceding Monday Night Football games. The event could drive subscriber engagement, advertising data and streaming visibility, although its financial impact will depend on conversion and retention. Disney+ to stream upcoming Super Bowl
• Positive Sentiment: Disney is raising prices for select theme-park tickets, annual passes, character dining and buffets. Higher per-guest spending could support Parks revenue, while a new resort, holiday-season programming and planned attraction replacements provide additional attendance and monetization catalysts. Disneyland and Disney World price changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Disney is pitching its “Infinity Vision” large-screen format to Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate and Sony across approximately 5,500 screens. The initiative could give Disney more control over premium film distribution, but it remains exploratory and would require industry adoption and investment. Disney pitches rival studios on Infinity Vision
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated park price increases could create affordability and demand concerns. Although Wedbush said the proposed screen network poses no immediate threat to IMAX, Disney’s initiative could increase capital requirements and execution risk if it advances. Wedbush assesses Disney’s proposed IMAX rival

Walt Disney Company Profile

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.