FeedPosted Sep 28th 2009 8:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Film, Marvel Entertainment (MVL), Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF)
Disney (NYSE: DIS) desperately wants to get its movie business back in some kind of order. Look no further than the recent departure of Dick Cook. According to the Los Angeles Times, the studio head was forced to resign by CEO Bob Iger because of poor performance (Iger was right to do this, but I'm not sure he's any smarter than Cook, to be honest . . .). Unfortunately, Disney's latest project, Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis, might not do much to help the cause.
According to Boxofficemojo, Surrogates came in second over the weekend at domestic theaters, behind Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The Disney film captured an estimated $15 million versus Meatballs' $24.6 million (final numbers are due later).
Continue reading Disney's movie business suffers another setback with 'Surrogates'
Posted Sep 18th 2009 3:40PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World, Film, Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
I read a surprising article over at Boxofficemojo by Brandon Gray. The author highlighted the foreign financial performance of News Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NWS) computer-animated cartoon Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the third entry in the popular franchise. Amazingly, Dinosaurs has now grossed $667 million at theaters outside the domestic market.
What's so interesting about that? Well, it means that the project now occupies third place on the all-time foreign chart. Gray says the number-one film on this chart is Titanic, which was a co-production between News Corp. and Viacom (NYSE: VIA). Coming in second is Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Continue reading News Corp.'s 'Ice Age' sequel proves Pixar isn't only game in town?
Posted Sep 11th 2009 3:00PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Time Warner (TWX), Marketing and advertising, Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), Media World, Film, Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
Disney (NYSE:
DIS), a media business that competes with
Time Warner (NYSSE:
TWX) and
Viacom (NYSE:
VIA), is currently holding a four-day fan convention in California called the D23 Expo. According to Julia Boorstin over at
CNBC.com, you might consider it a Comic-Con-like event strictly for the Mouse. As far as I can tell, this initiative is a smart marketing move. Disney is able to promote a lot of its content in a very targeted fashion.
Of particular interest is one piece of content that was highlighted in an article at the Los Angeles Times website. Disney is making a significant bet on an upcoming cartoon called The Princess and the Frog. It won't be a flashy 3-D production. Instead, it's animated in a 2-D environment.
Continue reading Disney promotes its content with new convention
Posted Sep 9th 2009 10:00AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), General Electric (GE), Wal-Mart (WMT), PepsiCo (PEP), Intel (INTC), Market matters, 3M Corporation (MMM), Caterpillar (CAT), Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Costco Wholesale (COST), FedEx Corp (FDX), Research in Motion (RIMM), Procter and Gamble (PG), Lennar Corp'A' (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM), Palm Inc (PALM), Cypress Semiconductor (CY), Broadcom Corp'A' (BRCM), United Technologies (UTX), Wells Fargo (WFC), salesforce.com inc (CRM), Union Pacific Corporation (UNP), Cramer on BloggingStocks, Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the action that is linked to the futures markets, such as oil, is distorting rational analysis. Maybe one day we can escape the commodity linkage and begin to trade on the fundamentals again, something that seems more distant now than any time I can recall. We are totally marching to gold, to oil, to copper, and not the fundamentals.
Throughout the era in which China has become a superpower and hedge funds have become the super arbiters or what goes up or down, we have been stuck with this fairly bogus linkage that corrupts trading and makes a mockery out of some of the most important financial analysis out there, the actual attempts to discover what's really happening at companies.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Fundamental distortion
Posted Sep 7th 2009 10:00AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), News Corp'B' (NWS), Film, Marvel Entertainment (MVL), Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF)
Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) was tops at the multiplex yet again with a scary horror franchise that the teens seem to be enjoying. The Final Destination, according to Boxofficemojo, grossed $12 million at domestic theaters over the three-day weekend, as of early estimates available at the time of this writing. I'm sure Destination will retain its number-one status once Labor Day is figured into the equation.
All About Steve, from News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), was the second-place film. It actually came close to Destination's take, bringing in about $11 million. Inglourious Basterds, distributed by The Weinstein Company, was third, and Gamer, an interesting sci-fi flick courtesy of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), was fourth. Sony's (NYSE: SNE) District 9, which came in fifth, has now gone beyond $100 million in total take.
Continue reading Time Warner and Death rule box office again
Posted Sep 3rd 2009 11:30AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), Analyst initiations, Deere and Co (DE), Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
Analyst upgrades:
- FBR Capital upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect upcoming catalysts and the company's opportunity in subsalt. FBR raised its target on shares to $60 from $50.
- Citigroup upgraded Marvel (NYSE: MVL) to Hold from Sell on expectations the acquisition by Disney (NYSE: DIS) will close. The firm raised its target on shares to $50 from $31.
- JPMorgan upgraded Cubic (NYSE: CUB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the Vix ERG acquisition and increased sales visibility. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $38.
- Siemens (NYSE: SI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
- Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
- Thompson Creek (NYSE: TC) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AAPL, APC, CAB, DE, HOV, MVL ...
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 3:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Other issues, Products and services, Management, Rants and raves, General Electric (GE), Walt Disney (DIS), Media World, Chasing Value, Stocks to Buy, Marvel Entertainment (MVL)

Some of the venom spewed at
General Electric Company (NYSE:
GE) every time I write about it, is getting kind of old. I understand the criticism of Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO who takes the blame for everything that is wrong with the company and the economy.
I too have felt that he might have done more. In particular, while
I argued Monday that most of the companies divisions were well integrated, or at least related, I am not sure that entertainment has to be a part of the mix, and the company is on the record to jettison the appliance division already.
In considering the plight of the GE shareholder, myself included, what exactly is it that investors would like Immelt to do?
Continue reading Chasing Value: Blaming GE's Immelt for what?
Posted Sep 1st 2009 8:30AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, Walt Disney (DIS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Media World, Marvel Entertainment (MVL), Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF)
Monday, August 31, 2009, will go down as one strange trading day. Disney (NYSE: DIS) buys Marvel (NYSE: MVL). BloggingStocks reported the details of the deal here.
As a long-time shareholder of Disney, I have to ask: Does CEO Bob Iger know what the heck he's doing anymore? I thought the news was quite surreal. I suppose we all knew that Marvel would be a takeover target someday but, honestly, I thought some other media conglomerate, like maybe News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), would do a deal before the Mouse would.
Continue reading Does the Disney/Marvel deal mean that CEO Bob Iger is out of ideas?
Posted Aug 31st 2009 4:00PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Walt Disney (DIS), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Morgan Stanley (MS), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Marvel Entertainment (MVL)

Today's
growth being seen in Chicago Purchasing Managers was totally dwarfed by what is still an overbought US stock market. Another big drop in Shanghai and a drop in other major overseas stock markets sealed the fate today. The bears scored another win, but this is just a 'day-two' victory after literally eight or nine days of straight DJIA wins....
Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 9,498.93 -45.27 (-0.47%)
S&P 500 1,020.76 -8.17 (-0.79%)
Nasdaq 2,009.06 -19.71 (-0.97%)
Top Analyst UpgradesTop Analyst DowngradesContinue reading Closing Bell: Shanghai surprise stomps bulls (AIG, FNM, SVA, MVL, DIS, MS)
Posted Aug 31st 2009 10:00AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, Walt Disney (DIS), Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
This morning saw no shortages of deals, and now add one more. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) said it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) for $4 billion in cash and stock. Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, among others.
MVL shares jumped about 25% in pre-market trade as shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share, which values each Marvel share at $50. MVL closed at $38.65 Friday. Meanwhile, Disney shares fell about 2.6% in pre-market, but have recovered after the beginning of trade.
Continue reading Walt Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion
Posted Aug 9th 2009 2:10PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Time Warner (TWX), Walt Disney (DIS), Media World, Film, Marvel Entertainment (MVL), Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF)
I watch Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) pretty regularly. I've written extensively about the company. I keep switching opinions on the stock. Is it a buy or a sell?
At this time, it definitely doesn't appear to be a great long-term investment. It's a bit too speculative for that. If you're looking for exposure to the media content industry, going with a Disney (NYSE: DIS) or a Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) might be safer. Those two entities are big conglomerates, of course, so if you want something safer than Lions Gate but would like a closer alliance with the movie sector, you might consider a business like Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL).
Continue reading Lions Gate Entertainment: What to expect in the Q1 report
Posted Aug 8th 2009 9:40AM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Caterpillar (CAT), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Procter and Gamble (PG), Amer Intl Group (AIG), News Corp'B' (NWS), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Sotheby's (BID), Marvel Entertainment (MVL), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: AIG, Caterpillar, Cisco, News Corp., Procter & Gamble ...
Posted Aug 5th 2009 9:00AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Film, Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
I keep watching Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL), waiting (or maybe "hoping" would be the better term) for a great pullback to get in on the action. I never seem to get it. Who knows, maybe it'll happen later today. But as of Tuesday's close, Marvel was still above $40 per share after dropping less than 1%. And that was after the traders digested the company's Q2 earnings report. That, in my opinion, is telling.
Marvel has always been the kind of stock that can throw you for a loop. I know, because I've owned it before. Is it me, or is the market getting increasingly comfortable with the company's business model of taking risk in the movie industry? Maybe it's too early to tell. At any rate, according to the press release, Marvel saw big decreases in both sales and per-share income. The top line dropped 26%, while the bottom line fell 37% to 37 cents per share. Marvel beat earnings estimates by 6 cents per share according to Reuters.
Continue reading Marvel tops estimates, but decline in licensing sales pulls down profit
Posted Jul 20th 2009 12:00PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Allergan (AGN), Palm Inc (PALM), Tyson Foods'A' (TSN), Dow Chemical (DOW), Texas Instruments (TXN), Analyst initiations, Marvel Entertainment (MVL)
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded Allergan (NYSE: AGN) to Buy from Hold to reflect increased estimates for Botox and its belief Latisse guidance looks conservative. The firm raised its target on shares to $57 from $45.
- Jefferies upgraded Texas Instruments (TXN) to Hold from Underperform after channel checks indicated business is strengthening. Jefferies believes Texas Instruments' September quarter guidance will come in better than expected and raised its target on shares to 23 from $16.
- FBR Capital upgraded Peabody Energy (BTU) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect "strong" long-term steel and steam demand trends from China and India. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $36.
- Elan Corp (ELN) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
- Affymetrix (AFFX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
- ASML Holding (ASML) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AGN, TXN, ELN, PALM, DOW
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