Andra AP fonden Raises Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Andra AP fonden increased its Warner Bros. Discovery stake by 38.9% in the second quarter, acquiring 201,200 additional shares for a total of 718,435 shares valued at approximately $19.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 59.95% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.34. WBD recently traded near $30.80, while Barclays initiated coverage at “Equal Weight” with a $29 target.
• Warner Bros. Discovery beat quarterly earnings expectations with adjusted EPS of $0.06, but revenue fell 11.2% year over year to $8.72 billion and the company remained unprofitable. CEO David Zaslav and another insider have also sold shares under disclosed transactions.

Andra AP fonden grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 718,435 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 201,200 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden's holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $19,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 128,364,674 shares of the company's stock worth $3,422,202,000 after acquiring an additional 934,964 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth $1,123,807,000. HBK Investments L P grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 15.9% during the second quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 18,965,932 shares of the company's stock worth $505,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,604,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company's stock worth $456,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBD. Barclays began coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday. Freedom Capital upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised 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 given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.34.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBD traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.80. 51,764,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,911,623. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.26 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $30.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 8.91% and a negative net margin of 8.77%.The company's revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merger approval risk has fallen: The multi-state settlement resolves litigation that had threatened to delay or block the transaction. Investors now appear focused on closing logistics rather than a potential regulatory failure. Paramount Skydance Clears a Major Warner Bros. Discovery Hurdle
• Positive Sentiment: Potential scale and streaming synergies: Combining WBD’s Max with Paramount+ could expand subscriber reach, reduce churn and improve the economics of competing in streaming. The combined company would also have roughly $66 billion in annual revenue and greater content-distribution scale. Paramount Skydance Rises on 12-State Settlement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increased: Morgan Stanley raised its WBD price target from $29 to $31 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, signaling limited additional upside but recognizing the improved deal outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Settlement concessions could preserve operations: Terms reportedly include $1.5 billion of domestic production investment over five years, commitments to maintain major studio locations, theatrical release targets and labor funding. These requirements may protect WBD’s production base but could restrict cost-cutting opportunities.
• Negative Sentiment: Leverage and execution remain key risks: Paramount is expected to assume substantial debt, while management must complete debt tenders, integrate two large media businesses and achieve projected streaming and cost synergies. Critics also argue the settlement provides insufficient protection for competition and workers, leaving room for continued political or legal scrutiny. Critics Say California Got Too Little in Deal

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Zaslav sold 194,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $5,463,871.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,807,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $190,758,310.68. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Amy Girdwood sold 262,285 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $7,338,734.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 539,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,091,684.52. This trade represents a 32.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,782,149 shares of company stock worth $77,455,972 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc is a global media and entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes television, film and digital content. Its portfolio includes Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO, CNN, Discovery, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, TNT Sports and other well-known brands.

The company operates streaming services including Max, which features HBO programming, Warner Bros. films, original series and other entertainment content, and discovery+, which focuses on lifestyle, documentary and nonfiction programming.

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