With Bob Iger back at Disney, 'you don't need Nelson Peltz,' says 'Fast Money' trader Steve Grasso

Published Wed, Feb 8 20236:58 PM EST

Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger wasted no time announcing a major restructuring, as well as thousands of layoffs, in his first earnings since returning to the media conglomerate. That showed activist investor Nelson Peltz may not be needed at Disney, said Steve Grasso, CEO of Grasso Global on CNBC's " Fast Money " Wednesday evening. "I think everyone was so happy to have Bob Iger back. He's almost the adult in the room, if you will," he said. "And with him there … you don't need Nelson Peltz. If he was not there, then you need Nelson Peltz in the room." Disney shares jumped more than 5% in extended trading. The entertainment giant beat on the top and bottom lines . It also announced a reorganization , $5.5 billion in cost cuts and the elimination of 7,000 jobs. This is the first report for Iger since his return to the company as CEO in November. The results also arrive as Disney is in the middle of a proxy fight with Peltz and his firm Trian Fund Management. "We are pleased that Disney is listening," a Trian spokesperson said Wednesday. Metropolitan Capital Advisors' Karen Finerman also said on "Fast Money" that the message to Disney shareholders was clear. "It seems like this call was basically a shareholder sort of presentation for the proxy fight. … 'Look, we're doing all these things, we're moving forward, and we've made momentum here and we're cutting costs there. And don't vote for Nelson Peltz.' Right? That's what it seemed to me," Finerman said. Grasso said on Fast Money that he had been long on Disney, which he expects will bounce from its pandemic lows. Disney shares traded as low as $85 during the pandemic, the investor said. Grasso said he thinks it could get back to $130. The stock closed Wednesday at $111.78. "I don't know what's the right price, but I know it wasn't $85," Grasso said. "I can make the case that it shouldn't get back to pre pandemic levels. But I know that the parks are going to be opening up, the parks are going to surprise to the upside. That's why I held the stock." Other top traders on "Fast Money" disagreed, saying the company will continue to face challenges. "The question is, you wrap all this stuff up talking about ESPN, [Bob Iger's] fighting this seemingly double-sided war, one against [Florida governor Ron] DeSantis, the other one seemed seemingly against Nelson Peltz, and do you want to pay 23 times next year's numbers for this stock?" Private Advisor Group's Guy Adami said. "It's had a great run. Again, we had talked about it in the fall being cheap," he added. "I don't think it's cheap anymore."