California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 79,855 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.0% in the first quarter, selling 79,855 shares and leaving it with about 3.94 million shares valued at roughly $108.2 million.
• Warner Bros. Discovery is facing merger-related legal uncertainty as California and 11 other state attorneys general seek to pause Paramount’s proposed takeover, with a federal judge expected to rule by July 22 on a temporary freeze request.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with several firms upgrading or reiterating bullish views, but the overall consensus is still “Hold” and the average price target is $27.04.

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,938,685 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,855 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.16% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $108,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,462 shares of the company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 14,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.7% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.6% during the first quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 7,837 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Huber Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: A federal judge will rule by July 22 on California’s request to temporarily freeze Paramount’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, increasing the risk of a near-term delay to the deal. Judge delays ruling on California's bid to freeze Paramount's $111B takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: California and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general are pushing an antitrust case to pause the merger, and media reports suggest Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount may have to delay closing while the legal fight plays out. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Faces State Lawsuit Over $110 Billion Merger Pause
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount has publicly argued the states’ antitrust case is unusually weak, but that defense does not remove the immediate legal uncertainty around the transaction. Paramount Calls the States’ Antitrust Case Against Warner Bros. Merger ‘One of the Weakest’ in Modern History
• Neutral Sentiment: Several shareholder lawsuits and related responses have added more headlines, but these appear secondary to the main issue: whether regulators or the court will block or delay the deal. Paramount and Warner Bros expect a delay in closing the deal

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $26.87 on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a one year low of $10.76 and a one year high of $30.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $26.85 and its 200 day moving average is $27.49. The company has a market capitalization of $67.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.39 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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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