We recently published a list of 8 Best Robinhood Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) stands against other best Robinhood stocks to buy according to analysts.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has announced quarterly retail investor pulse survey results. The majority of investors’ views were bullish. Investors began the year on the bullish (58%) note, in line with last quarter (59%). Furthermore, the results also revealed that around 2 out of 3 investors (64%) saw the market rising by the end of the quarter.
What’s On Retail Investors’ Minds?
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s survey revealed that inflation has been the top worry for investors’ portfolios at 45%, almost in line with the last quarter at 46%, with market volatility at 24% coming out to be the second. Notably, the concerns related to the new administration declined 13 percentage points since the last quarter. Furthermore, around 3 out of 5 (59%) of investors see that the broader US economy remains healthy. Chris Larkin, Managing Director, Head of Trading and Investing, E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, stated that with any new administration taking power, the potential policy changes can bring uncertainty in the broader markets. That being said, investors are optimistic and resilient amid a soft start to the new year.
READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In.
Current Trends in Retail Investing
Retail outflows from the US equities increased to ~$4 billion over the previous 2 weeks due to the uncertainties related to tariffs and increased economic concerns, which resulted in a strong pullback in the S&P 500, reported CNBC, while quoting data from Barclays. Rob Austin, director of research at Alight Solutions, says that if people tried to buy the dip, there would have been evidence hinting at the increased buying of the large-cap equities. On the contrary, people are selling large-cap equities. Austin believes that this seems to be a bit of a reactionary trading activity.
CNBC, while highlighting the comments made by Venu Krishna (Barclays head of U.S. equity strategy), reported that there remains sufficient capacity for the retail investors to further disengage from the broader equity market. Notably, Barclays’ proprietary euphoria indicator exhibited that the sentiments are down to the levels that were seen around the time of the US election back in November, but remain elevated by historic standards. The increased sell-off came as American households remained more sensitive than ever to the significant volatility in the broader equity markets.
Our Methodology
To list the 8 Best Robinhood Stocks to Buy According to Analysts, we sifted through several online rankings to shortlist the stocks trending on Robinhood. We also took help from the Robinhood Investor Index. Next, we chose the ones that analysts see significant upside to. Finally, the stocks were arranged in ascending order of their average upside potential, as of March 17. We also mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock, as of Q4 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A packed theater of moviegoers watching a blockbuster film produced by the entertainment company.
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)
Average Upside Potential: ~30.8%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) operates as an entertainment company. JPMorgan reiterated an “Overweight” rating on the company’s stock, maintaining a price objective of $130.00. The firm’s analysis showcased the healthy role of the company’s Parks & Experiences division in its revenue and operating income. As per the firm, this segment is projected to remain a critical contributor to The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s financials, despite continuous expansion of its Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) sector.
The analysts lauded the uniqueness of the company’s parks in the media landscape, demonstrating the ability to establish interactions with IP and franchises with the help of rides, merchandise, and characters. The firm highlighted a bullish stance on The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s long-term earnings potential of its Parks & Experiences business, thanks to the investments in new capacities, cruises as well as pricing strategies. JPMorgan’s report highlighted the company’s operational strategies, showcasing that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has significant control over its success, amidst the factors impacting the consumer discretionary businesses.
Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its Q2 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) operates a diversified entertainment business with theme parks, media networks, and streaming services. We own Disney because we believe its strong brand, valuable IP, and expanding streaming offerings will drive sustainable long-term growth. The company’s stock, however, underperformed in the quarter due to concerns about a slowdown in growth at its theme park division. While park revenue still grew by 10% year-over-year, management’s commentary suggested a moderation in post-pandemic demand and rising costs, leading to a disappointing outlook for park operating income in the second half of the year. This overshadowed the positive news that the company’s streaming segment, driven by strong subscriber growth at Disney+, reached profitability ahead of schedule. We held our position and will continue to monitor the performance of the theme park division.”
Overall, DIS ranks 2nd on our list of best Robinhood stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential of DIS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued AI stock that is more promising than DIS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
