Shares of Walt Disney (DIS) are on the rise after RBC Capital analyst Steven Cahall upgraded the stock to Top Pick on improved visibility and his belief the company has reached a turning point. The analyst sees the "non-Media" parts of Disney taking over the story, which provides potential for the market to reconsider the stock, he contends.

TOP PICK: In a research note to investors this morning, RBC Capital's Steven Cahall upgraded Disney to Top Pick from Outperform on improved visibility, saying it is now primarily a "unique global content" company with clear strategic direction. Further, the analyst argued that the upside/downside should be primarily on execution, where Disney has excelled. The company has reached a turning point with ESPN approaching less than 20% of earnings and "non-Media" Disney remaining a global leader in content that is executing well, he contended. At a time when investors are worried about ad and affiliate trends, Cahall noted that Disney is "the least media stock in the media sector" and its non-Media earnings and direct-to-consumer approach give the stock potential for a rerating. Moreover, while the risk of subscriber declines has not vanished, the analyst pointed out that he thinks Media increasingly takes a back seat to the company's ability to deliver at Studio and Parks. The analyst also argued that investors will need to wait a few years to truly measure the direct-to-consumer strategy's success, but the addressable market for Disney's direct-to-consumer service is "potentially massive." Cahall trimmed his full year 2018 and 2019 earnings estimates for Disney, and lowered his price target on the shares to $125 from $130.

DISNEY BETTING ON BAMTECH: Disney's announced subscription streaming services are both being built by BamTech, which grew out of Major Baseball Advanced Media and that has since developed technology that attracted outside clients, according to The New York Times. While there seems to be some sniping about how much Disney paid for BamTech, Disney contends that a big part of its value has been overlooked, the publication noted. "That's going to be a massive business, and BamTech is going to be a massive winner in it," Kevin Mayer, Disney's chief strategist, said in an interview.

WHAT'S NOTABLE: Disney CEO Bob Iger has said about the company's streaming plans that the company is "going to launch big, and we're going to launch hot," the Times report on Disney's BamTech bet noted. Before settling on the BamTech deal, Disney had experimented with building a streaming platform on its own and "toyed with the idea" of buying Twitter (TWTR), the report also noted.

PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Disney have gained about 1% to $100.90.