Looks like the Disney story might not have a happy ending after all, at least according to Lehman analyst Anthony DiClemente. He downgraded shares of the Mouse House to "Underweight" from "Equal Weight" and cut the price target to $29 from $40.
The growth of digital content distribution poses a threat to Disney's film and TV divisions, while the company's theme parks could see weaker attendance, says DiClemente who compared the scenario to that faced by the music industry earlier in the decade.
"The structural shift created by ubiquitous technological change - a shift that has materially impacted the music industry - could also disrupt the core economic models of the film and television studios," DiClemente wrote in a note to investors.
“We’re taking a cautious view structurally on the movie and TV content business,” DiClemete tells Fast Money. “We just don’t think profitability 2-3 years from now is going to be as great.”
DiClemente also said although Disney's theme parks appear to have been insulated from the broader economic downturn so far, attendance may soon begin to decline as the price of flights to Orlando - home of its Walt Disney World parks - continue to rise amid airline capacity cuts.