Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Buys Shares of 391,332 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group initiated a Warner Bros. Discovery position by purchasing 391,332 shares worth approximately $10.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 59.95% of WBD.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported quarterly EPS of $0.06, beating expectations, but revenue of $8.72 billion missed estimates and fell 11.2% year over year; analysts expect a full-year loss of $1.11 per share.
• Insiders sold 1.75 million shares worth roughly $48.3 million during the quarter, while analysts maintained an overall “Hold” consensus with an average price target of $27.69.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 391,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,433,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 123,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 8.8% during the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 74,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 6,068 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.8% during the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 725,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,335,000 after purchasing an additional 46,422 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 131.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,829,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $369,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,851,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 0.8%

WBD opened at $28.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.46 and a beta of 1.55. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.25 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $26.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.25 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 8.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Lowe sold 120,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.97, for a total transaction of $3,236,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 990,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,703,212.76. This trade represents a 10.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total transaction of $15,987,577.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 537,436 shares in the company, valued at $14,537,643.80. This trade represents a 52.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,750,749 shares of company stock worth $48,329,633. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WBD shares. Freedom Capital raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.69.

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.

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