Swiss National Bank Raises Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its WBD stake by 8.0% in the first quarter, buying 514,600 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 6.96 million shares worth about $191.1 million.
• Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest earnings missed expectations, reporting EPS of -$1.17 versus a consensus estimate of -$0.10, while revenue of $8.89 billion matched forecasts and declined 1% year over year.
• Merger-related legal risks remain a major overhang, as California and other state attorneys general are pushing to pause Paramount’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating uncertainty that the deal could be delayed.

Swiss National Bank grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,959,827 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 514,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $191,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD opened at $26.87 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $26.85 and its 200 day moving average is $27.48. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.76 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.37 billion, a PE 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 results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery'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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WBD. Seaport Research Partners raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Huber Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company 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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