Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 169,037 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has made a significant investment in Warner Bros. Discovery, purchasing 169,037 shares valued at approximately $1.81 million in the first quarter.
• In its latest quarterly earnings, Warner Bros. Discovery reported an earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.18), missing analysts' expectations by $0.06, with revenue declining 9.8% year-over-year.
• Despite the recent performance, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Warner Bros. Discovery, with an average target price of $12.66 on the stock.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 169,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,814,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 40,314 shares of the company's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 8,196 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 1st quarter worth approximately $133,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 268,933 shares of the company's stock worth $2,886,000 after buying an additional 24,566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 33,133 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WBD. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.66.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.87. The company had a trading volume of 59,355,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,685,344. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.64 and a 12 month high of $13.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.24.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.06). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 30.56% and a negative net margin of 28.16%. The company had revenue of $8.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.40) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

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.