This is the second Monday in a row that we have woken up to positive news concerning a potential COVID-19 vaccine. This week it was from the pharmaceutical company Moderna who announced that early data shows their vaccine to be 93% effective. This followed last Monday’s news from Pfizer that their vaccine had a 90% efficacy rate. For context, the US Government set the efficacy rate threshold at 50% to qualify for an Emergency Use Authorization. So these preliminary numbers from Pfizer and Moderna are astonishingly high.
Just like last week, today’s news boosted the stock price of many companies, including Disney. Disney’s stock jumped and ended the day at $144.67 a share, a $6.31 per share increase.
While the entire market saw positive returns today, Disney is uniquely vulnerable to news regarding vaccines and treatments. Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, has likely benefited from the various lockdowns enacted since March, due to people being asked to remain at home, a large portion of their company has been hobbled.
At one point this past year every Disney park was closed due to COVID-19 and while many have reopened, the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim and Disneyland Paris are currently closed. The other parks are all operating at reduced capacity, with many hotels closed, and restaurants and shows shuttered. Disney’s entire cruise line is shut down and they are expected to remain closed for the foreseeable future.
The income from their Parks and Cruises has always been a reliable and steady stream. So investors are very happy about any news that points to these sectors being opened for good.
The pandemic has also kept movie theaters closed, so the revenue from big blockbusters like 2019’s Toy Story 4, Aladdin, Lion King, and Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, is negligible this year. Another reason Disney’s future is strongly tied to the end of this pandemic.
The DisInsider will be monitoring this story and all of the seemingly non-Disney news that directly affects Disney moving forward. So keep checking back as we keep you updated.
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