'Iron Man 3' Tops 'The Avengers,' Sends Walt Disney Co. Shares To New 52-Week High

Shares of Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) hit record highs Monday morning following a strong international opening of “Iron Man 3.” The third installment of Marvel’s most storied franchise, which earned a whopping $195.3 million over the weekend, topped the $185.1 million collected from “The Avengers” during its overseas debut.

Disney’s stock opened at $62.82 and rose to $63.25, a gain of 2.2 percent before noon on Monday -- reaching a new 52-week high. Disney shares, which were already trading at record levels, are up nearly 50 percent since the same time last year.

UBS analyst John Janedis upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral at the start of the trading day. The Burbank, Calif.-based company was among the top stocks trading on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as a result of the UBS report, which put a new price target on Disney shares to $72 from $55.

The record trading comes at a convenient time for Disney as things only look to get better with its strong summer lineup of movies set to be released, including “Monsters University,” “The Lone Ranger” and “Planes.” “Thor: The Dark World,” will also be released later this year.

“Oz The Great and Powerful” has earned $481 million worldwide since March, according to Variety.

The Walt Disney Company reports second-quarter earnings May 7.