Why Disney Investors Win From 'Deadpool'

• Shares of Walt Disney Co DIS have dropped 20.64 percent over the past three months, falling to a low of $88.85 on February 10.
• Drexel Hamilton’s Tony Wible has maintained a Buy rating on the company, with a price target of $108.
• Marvel’s Deadpool, despite being R-rated, grossed $150 million through its long opening weekend, which was more than double the opening weekend expectations.

Analyst Tony Wible pointed out that with its opening weekend figures, Deadpool has “set records for being the largest open: 1) for an R-rated film; 2) in Fox’s history; and 3) for a February film.”

Wible expects these numbers to alleviate concerns regarding comic fatigue, while supporting expectations that Walt Disney would look at monetizing some of its “edgier” Marvel IP.

“We believe investors fail to appreciate that DIS has decades of market-tested story lines that are not being fully monetized as DIS has opted to avoid any brand image issues with edgier content. We believe this is changing and that we will see more mature Marvel content,” Wible stated.

In fact, Wible believes that there is large opportunity for mature comics in the form of TV and online series. “The Punisher is the most likely mature Marvel IP to be monetized near term,” the analyst added.