由于對迪士尼即將上映電影和新開迪士尼樂園非常樂觀，投行Guggenheim Securities上調了傳媒巨頭迪士尼的股票評級，從中性調升為買入。當天迪士尼盤中觸及每股112.65美元，Guggenheim Securities將其12個月的目標價由每股118美元升至每股128美元。

此次評級被上調意味著，華爾街不再糾結此前迪士尼旗下體育電視網ESPN盈利不佳。過去五年，ESPN的營業收入持續下滑，越來越多用戶放棄付費的有線電視。2011年，ESPN擁有超過1億訂閱用戶，如今降至8800萬人左右。按ESPN每月向每位訂閱者收費7美元計算，不計入ESPN2或ESPN Deportes等二線網絡因用戶流失減少的收入，迪士尼一年的損失超過10億美元。觀眾收看習慣轉變促使ESPN轉向數字視頻流服務以留住用戶。

盡管背著ESPN大“包袱”， Guggenheim仍然看好迪士尼，部分原因是預計該司將要上映的電影會表現強勁。本周五真人版的《美女與野獸》首映，業界預計票房會大賣。此外有兩部《星球大戰》系列影片和四部漫威系列超級英雄電影明年上映。除了這些熱門IP“吸金”，迪士尼還將推出《冰雪奇緣》、《玩具總動員》等經典動畫續集，還有《奪寶奇兵》系列新一部續集，基本上已經鎖定巨額票房。

讓分析師興奮的還不僅是大銀幕。他們認為，迪士尼即將開張的兩座主題樂園也會人潮洶涌。第一座是今年5月將在美國奧蘭多迪士尼世界動物王國迎客的“阿凡達”主題樂園，料將有大批游客前去體驗曾經史上最高票房電影——《阿凡達》。不過，第二座將開放的樂園可能吸引力更大，即2019年將在加州迪士尼樂園及華特迪士尼世界好萊塢影城開幕的“星球大戰”主題樂園。

過去六個月，迪士尼股價一直走勢強勁。去年10月中，迪士尼首席執行官鮑勃·艾格警告2017財年盈利勢頭可能減弱，原因是ESPN得斥資幾十億美元與美國職業籃球協會（NBA）續約轉播權。消息一出，迪士尼的股價應聲下跌，觸及低點每股90.32美元的低點后一路反彈，目前累計漲幅超過24%。（財富中文網）

作者：Jeff Bukhari

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

Guggenheim Securities upgraded its rating on Disney (dis) early Tuesday, moving the entertainment giant up from neutral to buy based on the back of high anticipation for its upcoming schedule of movies and new additions to its amusement parks. Disney, which sits at $112.65 in midday trading, now has a 12-month price target of $128 a share, up from $118.

Tuesday’s upgrade shook off worries about ESPN’s profitability, which had been a major concern for many on Wall Street. The Disney-owned sports network has seen its revenue drop over the last five years as more viewers have shifted away from buying cable subscriptions. In 2011, ESPN had just above 100 million subscribers, but that figure has dropped to around 88 million today. Considering the network makes $7 a month per subscription – a figure that doesn’t even include the money made off its many secondary networks such as ESPN2 or ESPN Deportes – Disney is missing out on over $1 billion a year. The shift in viewer’s watching habits has prompted ESPN to look to digital streaming to keep its audience numbers up.

Despite that hiccup, Guggenheim is still confident in Disney partially because it has an extremely strong slate of movies coming. The live-action version of ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ which opens on Friday, is expected to be a huge hit. There are also two ‘Star Wars’ films set to be released over the next year or so, as well as four Marvel superhero installments. As is if that weren’t enough, the coming sequels to smash hits like ‘Frozen’ and ‘Toy Story,’ plus another Indiana Jones movie, which are basically guarantees to keep a ton of money rolling in.

The excitement around some of these movies isn’t just limited to the silver screen. Disney’s amusement parks are set to open up two major new attractions that should prove to be huge boosts to traffic. The first, an ‘Avatar’-themed attraction set to open at Disney World in May, should bring in plenty of visitors eager to experience the highest-grossing film of all time. But it’s likely the second attraction will bring customers in even larger droves. Star Wars Land will open at both Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios in 2019.

Disney has been on a strong run over the last six months or so. Shares of the company are up more than 24% after they bottomed out at $90.32 in mid October, shortly before company CEO Bob Iger warned of the potential for lagging earnings for fiscal 2017 thanks to the billions of dollars ESPN laid out to continue to have rights to broadcasting NBA games, among other factors.