AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 288,204 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 37.2%, acquiring 288,204 shares, bringing its total holdings to over 1 million shares valued at approximately $11 million.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported earnings of $0.63 EPS, significantly exceeding analysts' projections, alongside a 1.0% year-over-year revenue increase to $9.81 billion.
• Analysts have adjusted price targets for Warner Bros. shares, with Wells Fargo increasing theirs from $11.00 to $13.00 and Bank of America from $14.00 to $16.00, maintaining a general outlook of "Moderate Buy."

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 37.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,063,929 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 288,204 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $11,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD traded up $2.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $18.87. The stock had a trading volume of 286,085,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,723,604. The firm has a market cap of $46.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.90, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.25 and a 52 week high of $19.33.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.73 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%.The business's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($4.07) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 150,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 252,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,352. The trade was a 37.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anton J. Levy acquired 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.00 per share, for a total transaction of $825,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 949,000 shares in the company, valued at $10,439,000. This trade represents a 8.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.20.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.