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Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Co.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Following a record breaking opening weekend for “The Lion King,” CNBC’s Jim Cramer said the Disney’s stock is an insurance play for investors.
“Disney is just an annuity stream,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street” on Monday.
Disney’s stock has been on a tear this year, climbing nearly 30%, on the back of announcing Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, and releasing several recording-breaking films. This past weekend, “The Lion King” earned an estimated $185 million in the U.S., the highest opening in July ever. The reimagining of the 1994 classic follows Disney’s release of “Avengers: Endgame,” which was crowned the highest-grossing film of all time.
“This movie machine is extraordinary,” said Cramer. “There was not, that I saw, a good review of Lion King and it just didn’t matter.”
“The Lion King” broke records despite garnering a Rotten Tomatoes score of 55% from 260 reviews heading into opening weekend. Critics had mixed feelings about the movie, with some calling the film’s musical numbers boring. The Rotten Tomatoes audience score was 89% on Sunday.
Cramer said Disney’s stock can continue to rise as he wonders is the company’s chief Bob Iger has “something up his sleeve” with the rollout of the company’s streaming service later this year. “If Disney+, if ESPN+, if any one of those shows good news, Disney’s stock can continue to go up,” said Cramer.
Disney is well-liked on Wall Street, with 68% of analysts giving the stock a “buy” rating. Disney also pays a 1.25% dividend yield. An annuity is a type of investment which pays a fixed sum of money over a set period of time.
