Walt Disney Company (DIS) shares reached a new level today, closing at $201.91. That represents an $11.92 (6.27%) increase over yesterday. The stock is flying high on news that Disneyland is cleared to reopen as soon as April 1, 2021.
According to Schaeffer’s Investment Research, DIS shares are up 70% year-over-year. Disney stock previously hit its record high February 24. Today’s results were also buoyed by an $8.6 million take over the weekend from Raya and the Last Dragon.
Despite The Walt Disney Company’s stale financial outlooks as of late due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the majority of its businesses, it seems some investors are making some big purchases while stock prices are low.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has purchased over 5 million shares from The Walt Disney Company, valued at just under $500 million. The fund disclosed the stakes in a regulatory filing Friday afternoon.
PIF has also invested in a number of other large U.S. companies, including Facebook, Starbucks, and even Carnival Cruises, which has also been hard-hit by the health crisis.
The new acquisitions were purchased on the public market as the fund wishes to expand to expand its U.S. presence in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It currently has over $10 billion invested in the U.S. equity market.
After a period of decline, stock of The Walt Disney Company rebounded today on reports of high Disney+ app downloads. At the time of writing, the stock of the media giant is up 1.6% to around $146.02 a share.
Downloads of the Disney+ app have neared 41 million after a very strong Q4, which saw more than 30 million downloads after launch on November 12, 2019. Disney+ grossed over $50 million in the first 30 days, which analysts saw as positive signs for the streaming service.