Goldman Sachs on Tuesday upgraded Disney to buy from hold, predicting a 20 percent-plus rally over the next 12 months amid the release of several potential blockbusters from its movie studio beginning at the end of this year.
“Studio entertainment should benefit from what may [be] Disney’s strongest ever film slate with 4 Marvel films, 2 ‘Star Wars’ films and 3 animated family films,” equity analyst Drew Borst wrote in a note to clients. “Notably, this will be the first time that Disney has ever had 2 ‘Star Wars’ films in a single [fiscal] year with ‘Star Wars: Episode VIII’ (Dec. 15, 2017) and Han Solo ‘Star Wars’ Anthology (May 25, 2018). ”
Borst is referring to Disney’s fiscal 2018, which begins this October.
He believes fiscal 2018 will mark a new record for revenue and operating income from movie production, with many of the new releases driving high-margin consumer product licensing.
