Bank of America increased its rating on Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) to ‘buy” from “neutral” citing that the entertainment monolith’s 2011 earnings could outperform expectations.
The value of shares in Walt Disney increased by more than 5% during the week, closing at $33.22 per share.
The research note by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said that “We believe the cyclical advertising recovery, a nascent consumer recovery, capital expansion projects, a new film creative cycle, retransmission deals and continued cable network growth foster multiple catalysts that could aid Disney’s fundamentals.”
Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised Walt Disney’s price target to $42.00, up from the $33.00 price target that Walt Disney met on Friday.
The analyst said that the recovering economy will likely help the company’s theme parks and that improved consumer spending will help pad the company’s revenue. Bank of America also believes that highly-anticipated film such as “Toy Story 3” will boost earnings in the company’s film division.
