Verizon is speculated to be looking into buying media conglomerate Walt Disney, the New York Post reported this weekend, based on conversations the publication had with one banker.
Shares of Disney were trading about 2 percent higher Monday morning, as investors digested this story on a holiday-shortened trading day.
“One rumor making the rounds last week was that Verizon may be eyeing a Disney purchase,” the Post wrote. “While that sounds fantastical, a well-placed banker told On the Money not to count Verizon out.”
Representatives from Disney and Verizon did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
But keep in mind it’s a “quiet day in the market,” Needham & Company’s Laura Martin told CNBC.
With the Independence Day holiday looming and trading volumes remaining light, many analysts are also questioning the validity of the Post’s report.
“Yesterday the NY Post reported that a ‘well-placed banker’ … said not to count Verizon out of a potential bid for Disney,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Steven Cahall wrote in a Monday morning note to clients.
“Though not fake news, we think the Post’s burden of legitimacy for publishing such ideas is below that of publications like the WSJ, Reuters and Bloomberg,” Cahall added. “But to its credit, we note that it occasionally gets these M&A calls right.”
At the end of the day, RBC said it would “advise investors to assign the Post’s report a low probability.”
Many people also took to social media on Monday to express confusion or denial altogether.
Read the full report from the New York Post.
Source: Investment Cnbc
Disney is trading higher on a really thin rumor that analysts aren't buying