David Zaslav Sells 194,999 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Stock

Key Points

• CEO David Zaslav sold 194,999 WBD shares at an average price of $28.02, generating approximately $5.46 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He continues to own 6.81 million shares after the sale.
• Warner Bros. Discovery shares rose 0.9% to $27.99, near the consensus analyst price target of $27.69. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, while institutional investors own 59.95% of the stock.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations with $0.06 per share but reported revenue of $8.72 billion, below estimates and down 11.2% year over year. Investor attention remains focused on the proposed Paramount merger and ongoing antitrust litigation.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) CEO David Zaslav sold 194,999 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $5,463,871.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,807,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $190,758,310.68. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

David Zaslav also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 13th, David Zaslav sold 773,173 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $21,656,575.73.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.99. 12,494,071 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,710,194. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.25 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.04 and a beta of 1.55. The business's fifty day moving average price is $26.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.17.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.25 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 8.91% and a negative net margin of 8.77%.Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue for the quarter was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company's stock worth $8,161,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966,278 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company's stock worth $1,912,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,123,807,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 27,462,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $791,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,496,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,891,000 after buying an additional 876,869 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.69.

Key Headlines Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Bros. Discovery this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merger expectations are supporting WBD. Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance shares are rallying as recent market activity suggests the Hollywood megamerger’s closing odds may be improving. Paramount’s reported willingness to consider selling CNN to address antitrust concerns could help resolve a key obstacle. Paramount and Warner Bros. Stocks Are Rallying
• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros.’ “The End of Oak Street” is targeting as much as $48 million globally in its debut. A strong theatrical opening could provide a modest near-term boost to studio and film-distribution sentiment, although the impact on WBD’s overall financial results is likely limited. The End of Oak Street targets global debut
• Neutral Sentiment: The merger remains tied up in antitrust litigation. The parties have outlined discovery and other pretrial deadlines, with the legal process potentially extending toward a March 2027 trial. The long timeline keeps merger-related volatility elevated and delays certainty for WBD shareholders. Paramount-WBD antitrust trial schedule
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry groups including the DGA and IATSE are urging a faster resolution to the Paramount-WBD legal standoff, while Teamsters members are protesting Paramount over merger-related commitments. The developments increase political and labor pressure but do not yet establish the transaction’s outcome. Teamsters protest Paramount over merger
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD announced incubator productions for Food Network and discovery+, supporting its content pipeline but offering limited immediate financial impact. WBD Food Network and discovery+ productions
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales may weigh on investor confidence. Director Kenneth Lowe sold 120,000 shares for approximately $3.24 million, and Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares worth about $15.99 million. The filings do not explain the motivations, but the sizable reductions can be viewed as a negative sentiment signal. Gerhard Zeiler WBD share sale

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery NASDAQ: WBD is a global media and entertainment company formed when WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc combined their businesses in 2022. Headquartered in New York City, the company assembles a broad portfolio of film and television production, linear and cable networks, streaming services and consumer distribution operations. Its assets span well-known studio brands, premium scripted and unscripted programming, news and factual entertainment, and licensed franchise properties.

The company's core activities include film and television production and distribution through units such as Warner Bros.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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