LONE RANGER FLOP FAILS TO HURT DISNEY STOCK

Go figure. Despite the fact that some analysts were predicting that Disney might have to take a $150-190 million write-off on The Lone Ranger following a disastrous start over the Independence Day holiday, the company’s stock continued to trade near its 52-week high, even inching up nearly 2 percent by today to about $65 in midday trading on the NYSE. Some analysts attributed the Wall Street indifference to the fact that the film had already been regarded as a probable flop and such a consideration had been on the minds of investors for months. Said Lazard Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett in a note to clients: “Many investors had been skeptical about Disney’s Lone Ranger reboot. They were right.” Crockett still rates Disney a “buy,” as do many other financial analysts. Meanwhile, shares of Comcast, which owns Universal Studios, which produced the weekend hit Despicable Me 2, were up nearly four percent from Friday as Universal seemed to be on a roll following last month’s Fast and Furious 6. Despicable Me 2 earned $83.52 million over the three-day weekend domestically and $88.80 million overseas. The film, which opened in a handful of international locations two weeks ago, has now earned $294.2 million worldwide. In midday trading, Comcast shares were trading at about $43, a tad off their 52-week high of $43.74.