Ancora Advisors LLC decreased its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 99.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,440 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,764,917 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company's stock worth $1,912,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,123,807,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 27,462,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $791,476,000 after buying an additional 1,254,813 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.9% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,452,808 shares of the company's stock worth $560,630,000 after buying an additional 358,353 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total value of $15,987,577.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 537,436 shares in the company, valued at $14,537,643.80. The trade was a 52.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Fazal Merchant sold 71,539 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total value of $1,985,207.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,067 shares in the company, valued at $917,609.25. This trade represents a 68.39% 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 1,950,749 shares of company stock valued at $53,999,633. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.
Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Bros. Discovery this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery reached a deal with Turkey’s Doğuş Media Group to bring Turkish scripted programming to HBO Max. The agreement could improve the service’s international content offering and subscriber appeal. WBD partners with Doğuş to bring Turkish drama to HBO Max
- Positive Sentiment: WBD launched a shoppable streaming experience in Poland, creating a potential new advertising and commerce revenue channel. The financial impact is likely limited initially but supports its broader streaming monetization strategy. WBD launches shoppable streaming experience in Poland
- Neutral Sentiment: WBD will discontinue the standalone discovery+ app in India, apparently consolidating content within a broader HBO Max strategy. The move could reduce operating complexity, although it may risk disrupting some existing customers. WBD to discontinue standalone discovery+ app in India
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on WBD, indicating limited conviction that the stock’s recent gains will continue without clearer improvement in profitability and its streaming outlook. WBD given consensus Hold rating
- Negative Sentiment: A director sold 200,000 WBD shares for approximately $5.67 million, reducing his direct holdings by 20.2%. While the sale may be personal or portfolio-related, the sizable insider transaction can weigh on sentiment. SEC insider-trading filing
- Negative Sentiment: A reported state antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal, raising uncertainty over regulatory approval, timing and the potential value of the transaction. State antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal
- Negative Sentiment: Higher-rate expectations are pressuring higher-valuation media and streaming stocks. Although WBD has held relatively steady versus peers, the sector-wide repricing is limiting near-term upside. Rate repricing pressures streaming stocks
Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance
Shares of WBD opened at $28.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.09 and its 200-day moving average is $27.26. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.77 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.57.
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 8.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Huber Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.69.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WBD
Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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