Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 1,187,506 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management sharply reduced its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, selling 1,187,506 shares in the first quarter and cutting its holdings by 94.2% to 72,914 shares worth about $2.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with 59.95% of WBD stock held by hedge funds and other institutions. Several other funds increased their positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock, with an average Hold rating and a $27.04 price target, while the shares were trading around $26.81. Warner Bros. Discovery also reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as merger-related headlines continue to drive investor attention.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 94.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,914 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,187,506 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $2,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company's stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 51,920 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 21,228 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,779 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company's stock worth $1,254,000 after purchasing an additional 55,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company's stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 4,062 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WBD. Weiss Ratings cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD opened at $26.81 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.94 and a 200 day moving average of $27.66. The company has a market cap of $67.22 billion, a PE ratio of -38.30 and a beta of 1.54. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.76 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 4.77%. The business had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount reportedly offered concessions to the European Commission, including plans to exit UIP, in an effort to secure EU approval for the Warner merger. That could improve the odds the transaction eventually clears antitrust review. Paramount Skydance Offers Concessions to Facilitate EU Approval of $81 Billion Warner Bros Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports say Paramount is actively submitting concessions to address European competition concerns, suggesting management is still pushing hard to keep the deal alive. Paramount Submits Concessions To Gain EU Approval For Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount Skydance said it has gained key global merger approvals, which is constructive for the transaction overall, but the remaining UK and EU hurdles still make the path to closing uncertain. Paramount Skydance Gains Key Global Merger Approvals
• Negative Sentiment: The UK government said it is “minded to intervene” in the proposed Paramount-Warner merger, citing media plurality and news-sector concentration concerns, raising the risk of a prolonged review. UK government says it’s likely to challenge $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports from UK media outlets echo that regulators may intervene, reinforcing fears that the deal could face major political and antitrust obstacles. UK ‘minded’ to intervene in Paramount’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery Profile

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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