Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Makes New $917,000 Investment in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery of 43,279 shares during the third quarter, valued at about $917,000.
• Deal activity is a key catalyst — Paramount/Skydance agreed to buy WBD assets, which could unlock value for shareholders, but heavy insider selling (CEO and other executives sold millions of shares, ~7.78M shares worth $219.6M last quarter) may weigh on sentiment.
• Institutional ownership is high (~59.95%) with major positions from Vanguard, Pacer and Norges Bank, and analysts have a consensus "Hold" rating with a consensus price target of $25.99.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 43,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth approximately $306,848,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,788,847 shares of the company's stock worth $445,066,000 after buying an additional 22,308,046 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,492,112,000 after acquiring an additional 18,736,600 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at $77,896,000. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,916,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $31.25 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Argus lowered their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.99.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount/Skydance agreed to buy WBD assets in a deal that could deliver a takeover premium and simplify WBD’s portfolio — this is the primary bullish catalyst for shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Buyer leadership (David Ellison/Paramount/Skydance) publicly pledges to keep CNN independent, reducing regulatory and integration risk that might otherwise erode deal value. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and M&A presentations are framing the transaction as a strategic reset that could unlock value for WBD shareholders (materials outline bidder dynamics and potential synergies). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix has stepped back from the WBD bidding war and is refocusing on core streaming strategy — removes one potential suitor but also leaves bidders like Paramount to set the deal terms. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes Netflix received cash from its failed WBD bid and may redeploy capital elsewhere; this is relevant to the competitive landscape but not directly to WBD’s valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party market activity (reports of investors buying Netflix bonds and other opportunistic moves) reflects investor jockeying around the media deal but is peripheral to WBD’s fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, coordinated insider selling reported this week (CEO David Zaslav sold ~4.0M shares; CFO and other senior execs also sold large blocks) — big disposals can pressure sentiment and suggest insiders are taking liquidity or reducing exposure ahead of/after deal activity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales (e.g., Amy Girdwood) and multiple large Form 4s amplify the selling signal and may trigger short-term profit-taking. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure: Moffett Nathanson downgraded WBD to neutral (maintains $31 target) and Argus published a pessimistic forecast — bearish notes can cap the stock’s near-term upside and encourage selling. Read More. • Read More.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.3%

WBD stock opened at $27.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $69.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.31 and a beta of 1.60. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.52 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, insider Priya Aiyar sold 223,512 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.24, for a total value of $6,311,978.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 919,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,959,676.48. This trade represents a 19.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 55,118 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $1,543,304.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 7,782,159 shares of company stock valued at $219,565,426 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

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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