Disney stock has had a stellar 2019
Shares of theme park and broadcasting beast Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) are up 5.8% in electronic trading, putting the stock on track for its best day in almost seven months. Triggering the boom is Disney's fiscal fourth-quarter results, where the company reported a better-than-expected profit thanks to strong growth from its flagship parks and the film business. In fact, revenue from its studios segment soared 52% to $3.3 billion.
Also in focus is CEO Bob Iger's announcement that Disney has reached a deal with Amazon (AMZN) to offer its new Disney+ streaming service on Amazon Fire. The company also said it has distribution partnerships for the new streaming service -- which is set to launch in the U.S. next week -- with Samsung and LG.
DIS has had an outstanding year on the charts so far. Now up 21.2% in 2019 to close at $132.96 on Thursday. Not only did the equity touch a record high of $147.15 on June 29, but it is now seeing support at the rising 200-day moving average. While analysts have yet to chime in on last night's impressive beat, there still remains room for a handful of upgrades. Specifically, coming into today, four covering firms still sport a tepid "hold" recommendation.
Options traders, meanwhile, were bullish ahead of the event, with the 10-day call/put volume ratio at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) coming in at 3.14. This reading shows three long calls have crossed for every put, and ranks in the 75th annual percentile, so such a preference for long calls over puts is rare.