Here's what every major Wall Street analyst is saying about Disney's surprising CEO switch

Published Wed, Feb 26 20207:35 AM ESTUpdated Wed, Feb 26 202010:06 AM EST

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Wall Street analysts were shocked after Disney announced on Tuesday that its long-time CEO Robert Iger would step down and become executive chairman effective immediately. The media giant said chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products, Bob Chapek will take over. While analysts urged investors to remain calm, many questioned the timing amid coronavirus outbreak, the launch of Disney+, and integration of Fox assets among other things. Shares of the company were down 1.16% in early trading. Here's what Wall Street analysts are saying about Disney's new CEO and what to do with the stock: "There is never a great time for succession announcements, but this one is likely to cause particular consternation with investors," Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall said. The firm said it still liked the stock but needed to take a wait and see approach. "Chapek's challenges are really no different than what Iger faced, but in the short term we expect investors to be worried until the earnings outlook is made clear. " The feeling was largely the same at Citi where the firm noted that shareholders may find the abrupt switch hard to accept. "Mr. Iger was highly regarded by investors. Indeed, given Mr. Iger's track record, we suspect investors will have a difficult time believing any successor will be able to match Mr. Iger's results," Citi analyst Jason Bazinet said. "As such, investors may see today's announcement as a potential harbinger of tougher times ahead," he said. But Needham may have sounded the biggest warning of all saying Iger's departure from the CEO role could be more ominous than many realize. "This is negative for DIS as DIS's EPS weakness is riskier without Iger's value-creating track record," analyst Laura Martin said. The firm also said that it was curious that Iger would shift his attention to other company assets while still relinquishing the top spot. "The fact that Bob Iger believes it's a full time job to sort out the content assets over the next 2 years implies it's a bigger mess over at the FOXA content assets than we thought," she said. While JPMorgan acknowledged the timing was surprising, the firm said it had confidence in the company's decision. " Chapek is also well known by Wall Street with a big presence over the years at many investor events," the analyst said. "We continue to view Disney as one of the most well positioned media companies to evolve successfully to a DTC model and see any weakness as a buying opportunity and reiterate our Overweight rating." Bernstein- Market perform rating "Mr. Iger is one of the most beloved and respected CEOs, not just in the media space, but across all public companies. One of our favorite questions to ask investors over the past few years has been: 'can you name a legitimate candidate for Disney CEO who the market would perceive as an upgrade to Mr. Iger?' The obvious and unanimous answer being: no. This is not a condemnation of Mr. Chapek. It's the reflection of the almost impossible task of being asked to fill the shoes of such a highly respected Chief Executive, during a time of such profound change and challenges facing the company." Rosenblatt- Buy rating "Over the years, Bob Iger had been adamant that he would leave Disney at the end of his co