Disney’s stock hit an all-time high of $66.07 on Tuesday as better-than-expected results during the company’s second quarter propped up Mouse House shares.
Shares in Disney are up 33% so far this year. They also rose nearly 33% during all of 2012. The stock closed up $1.01 on Tuesday, gaining 1.55%, but shares lost much of their gains after the bell, losing $0.87 or 1.32%.
“We are pleased with a stock price that keeps reaching new highs,” said Walt Disney Co. CEO and chairman Bob Iger during a conference call with analysts on Tuesday.
Still the stock’s expected to reach even higher levels in 2013, based on calls from analysts which put a new price target on Disney shares to $72 from $55 late last month. At the time, UBS analyst John Janedis said the company’s potential for earnings growth is “underappreciated by the market.”
Disney’s value rose as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 15,000 for the first time in its history, also on Tuesday, finishing the day at a record 15,056.2. The Dow is up 14.9% so far this year.
Overall, Disney reported profits of $1.51 billion, a gain of 32%, on a 9.6% gain in revenue of $10.55 billion during its second quarter that ended March 30. Company now has a market cap of $119.28 billion.
Stock’s recent performance also is in reaction to the $175.3 million domestic bow of Marvel Studio’s “Iron Man 3,” the highest domestic opening weekend on record second only to last summer’s “The Avengers.” Film has cumed $711 million worldwide so far, helping Disney cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office for 2013 for the 19th consecutive year, and the fastest it has ever done so.
In addition to “Oz the Great and Powerful, which was a big hit during the second quarter, and “Iron Man 3,” Disney will also release “Monsters University,” “The Lone Ranger” and “Planes,” this summer and has “Thor: The Dark World” later this year.
