After some postmarket declines following a revenue miss yesterday, Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) has spent today in positive ground, up 1.1%.
Analysts saw a hint of succession stability as a bright spot even as Disney faces continuing challenge at its sports network ESPN.
CEO Bob Iger's openness to staying past his 2018 contract end date may alleviate concerns there, says Nomura's Anthony DiClemente, and the company's underlying trends are still intact (even including affiliate fee growth in its networks business).
The quarter "was a little better than we feared," says FBR's Barton Crockett, while noting that Disney is a little less transparent on ESPN affiliate info (reporting affiliate fee trends for the Media Networks business as a whole may hide cable results within broadcast fees).
RBC is looking to price-driven acceleration in fiscal 2018 as Disney hits a renewal cycle later this year. More competition among platforms should drive affiliate fees as well as subscriber growth for Disney, says Steven Cahall.
He's got a bullish price target of $130, implying 18% upside; DiClemente has a price target of $120, and Crockett's target is $116.
"Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."
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