Susan Arnold has been named as Disney's new board chair
The shares of Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) are up 0.8% at $143.30 this morning, following news that Susan Arnold has been named chairman of the board. Arnold will succeed one-time CEO Bob Iger, who has had the role of chairman since 2012, and plans on departing by the end of the year.
Though today's movement is muted, a win today would mark DIS' fourth in the last 15 trading days. It's been quite the downward spiral for DIS since the media giant's fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, with pressure forming at the descending 10-day moving average. Year-to-date, DIS is down 21.5%.
Disney's lackluster earnings report last month brought a barrage of bear notes, though many members of the brokerage bunch remain optimistic. The 12-month consensus price target of $197.08 is a 37.4% premium to current levels. Plus, of the 17 covering the stock 13 say "buy" or better.
Options traders have also remained bullish. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), DIS sports a 10-day call/put volume ratio of 3.20, which stands higher than 64% or readings from the past 12 months. This suggests options traders are picking up long calls at a quicker-than-usual clip.