The Walt Disney Company (DIS) Down On Revenue Miss, Subscriber Loss: Is This A Buying Opportunity?

Hedge fund activity in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)

In contrast to how the market is currently punishing The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) for barely missing revenue expectations, hedge funds were bullish on the stock in the first quarter. By March 31, a total of 64 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long Disney, up by six from one quarter earlier. Furthermore, there was a 21.34% quarter-over-quarter increase in total hedge fund holdings to $4.37 billion by the end of March, well above the 11.36% increase in the stock’s price in the first quarter. From April 1 through June 30, the stock climbed by another 8.82%.

Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management was the biggest shareholder of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) among the funds tracked by Insider Monkey as it owned 8.4 million shares worth at the end of March and further upped its stake by 46,412 during the second quarter. Meanwhile, Alex Snow’s Lansdowne Partners also held about 8.4 million shares of Disney at the end of the first quarter. Other hedge funds with similar optimism are Eric W. Mandelblatt’s Soroban Capital Partners, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Tom Gayner’s Markel Gayner Asset Management. Laurion Capital Management, led by Benjamin A. Smith, initiated the biggest call position in Disney in the first quarter, buying call options underlying 1.49 million shares. John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Limited also initiated a $64.7 million position during the quarter, acquiring 616,728 shares.

Since hedge funds are bullish on the stock, we recommend a long position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), especially given a lower entry point offered by today’s downturn.

Disclosure: None