Byrne Asset Management LLC Buys New Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Byrne Asset Management purchased 47,610 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, valued at approximately $1.47 million, making WBD 0.8% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 59.95% of the company.
• WBD shares traded at $30.98, near their 52-week high of $30.99. The company beat quarterly EPS expectations ($0.06 versus an estimated loss of $0.14), but revenue fell 11.2% year over year to $8.72 billion, below consensus.
• The completed Paramount-Skydance acquisition gives WBD shareholders a definitive liquidity event through cash and/or successor-company securities, while combining major film, television, and streaming assets.

Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 47,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,474,000. Warner Bros. Discovery makes up 0.8% of Byrne Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WBD. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company's stock worth $456,301,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,900 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 29.1% in the first quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP now owns 2,583,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,929,000 after purchasing an additional 583,000 shares during the period. Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at about $4,482,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,839,154 shares of the company's stock worth $77,963,000 after purchasing an additional 91,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westport Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter worth about $1,861,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBD traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.98. 435,552,453 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,219,644. The company has a market capitalization of $77.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.40 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business's 50 day moving average is $28.39 and its 200-day moving average is $27.45. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $30.99.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.20. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 8.91%. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: The transaction provides a definitive liquidity event for WBD shareholders. Depending on the consideration elected or applicable under the merger terms, holders receive cash and/or securities in the successor Skydance company rather than continuing to own standalone Warner Bros. Discovery. What Shareholders Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s acquisition combines major film, television and streaming assets, potentially creating scale advantages, cost synergies and a broader content portfolio under Skydance. David Ellison will lead the new company as chairman and CEO alongside co-CEO Ynon Kreiz. Paramount Closes Merger to Form Skydance

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Argus reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. 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, Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given 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 $28.61.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, Director Anton J. Levy sold 340,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total transaction of $9,652,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 618,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,546,922.13. This represents a 35.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Amy Girdwood sold 262,285 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $7,338,734.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 539,374 shares in the company, 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 a total of 2,782,149 shares of company stock valued at $77,455,972 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

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

The company serves audiences through streaming platforms, cable and broadcast networks, theatrical releases, consumer products and content licensing.

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