Walt Disney shares gain the most in nearly 10 years on Friday, company prices its new video streaming service, Disney+, below Netflix’s standard offering

Walt Disney Cos shares registered their largest single-session gain and touched a record high on Friday after analysts appreciated the company’s move to price its new video streaming service below Netflix Inc’s standard offering.

Disney+, Walt Disney’s streaming service, has been priced at $6.99 per month. In comparison, Netflix’s standard plan is priced at $8.99 per month.

Walt Disney shares closed higher for the sixth time in the past nine trading sessions in New York on Friday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since May 6th 2009. The stock went up 11.54% ($13.46) to $130.06, after touching an intraday high at $130.90 and also an all-time high.

Shares of Walt Disney Company have risen 18.61% so far in 2019 compared with a 15.98% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Walt Disney’s stock went up 1.99%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

Disney+ is to be launched on November 12th in the United States and is to include content from Disney brands such as Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar. It will also include Fox brand National Geographic and animated sitcom ”The Simpsons”, which Disney acquired recently.

Between 60 million and 90 million subscribers are expected to be attracted, Walt Disney said, while profitability is expected to be achieved in fiscal 2024. The company also said it intended to invest a bit more than $1 billion in cash in original programming in fiscal year 2020.

“Investors find a lot of promise in Disney’s offerings because it’s well positioned to fight the likes of Netflix for consumers’ money,” Clement Thibault, analyst at global financial markets platform Investing.com, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

“It’s still very early on, but the streaming war has officially begun. By fighting back with a competitive offering, Disney at least gives itself a chance to win in the streaming industry, rather than just losing user after user to other streaming services,” Thibault added.

According to CNN Money, the 22 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Walt Disney’s stock price, have a median target of $131.50, with a high estimate of $150.00 and a low estimate of $90.00. The median estimate represents a 1.11% upside compared to the closing price of $130.06 on April 12th.

The same media also reported that 16 out of 25 surveyed investment analysts had rated Walt Disney’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Walt Disney Company (DIS) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $125.20
R1 – $135.76
R2 – $141.46
R3 – $152.02
R4 – $162.58

S1 – $119.50
S2 – $108.94
S3 – $103.24
S4 – $97.54