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Disney’s Top Executive Peter Rice Pink-Slipped; Shares Sink 3.7%
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Disney’s Top Executive Peter Rice Pink-Slipped; Shares Sink 3.7%

Story Highlights

Will another top-level exit at Disney mar its growth prospects? Let’s find out.

Mass media and entertainment giant The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), popularly known as Disney, has laid off its top executive Peter Rice, The Wall Street Journal stated in a report.

Shares of Disney slipped 3.7% on Thursday, but the fall can be attributed to wider market concerns.

Details of the Change

Peter Rice was the Chairman of General Entertainment Content at Disney. He will be replaced by Dana Walden, Rice’s longtime deputy and a former Fox executive. Before Disney, Walden was in charge of the television studio and broadcast network at Fox.

According to the report, people familiar with the matter revealed that Rice was not a “good fit” for the company anymore. Rice was hired by former Disney CEO Robert Iger in 2019 and had recently renewed his employment contract.

As the Chairman of the Disney General Entertainment Content division, Rice led the oversight of original entertainment and news content for Disney’s cable channels, the ABC television network and streaming platforms Disney+, Hulu and Star.

Stock Rating

Recently, Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $130, which implies upside potential of 25.9% from current levels.

The analyst is of the opinion that the company’s growth outlook for the next few years is “robust.”

Overall, the Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock and has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 17 Buys and seven Holds. DIS’ average price target of $145.35 implies that the stock has upside potential of 42.6% from current levels. Shares have declined 41.5% over the past year.

Website Traffic

TipRanks’ Website Traffic Tool, which uses data from SEMrush Holdings (SEMR), the world’s biggest website usage monitoring service, offers insight into Disney’s performance this quarter.

According to the tool, the Disney website recorded a 65.39% monthly rise in global visits in May, compared to the same period last year. Further, the footfall on the company’s website has grown 49.43% year-to-date, compared to the previous year.

The increased number of visits to the company’s website alludes to the fact that the company’s growth prospects are strong.

Conclusion

Despite economic uncertainties and changes in top management, Disney’s solid fundamentals and a wide array of strong brands are likely to keep the company on a strong footing.

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