Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Boosts Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Valley Wealth Managers Inc. dramatically increased its Warner Bros. Discovery stake in the fourth quarter, boosting its position by 4,833.7% to 39,075 shares valued at about $1.13 million.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported a wider-than-expected loss for its latest quarter, posting earnings of ($1.17) per share versus analysts’ expectation of a much smaller loss, even as revenue matched estimates at $8.89 billion.
• Insider selling and mixed analyst views continue to pressure sentiment: CEO David Zaslav and other insiders sold large blocks of stock, while Wall Street’s consensus rating remains “Hold” with an average price target of $26.36.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 4,833.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,075 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,283 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 218.3% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 183,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,299,000 after buying an additional 126,098 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,590,000. Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,312,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,235 shares of the company's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.1%

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.20 on Wednesday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.82 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.86 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.81.

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 business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total value of $113,157,250.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 7,200,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,489,719.02. The trade was a 35.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 600,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $16,812,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 672,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,847,624.98. This represents a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock worth $230,674,025 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WBD. 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Huber Research lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Monday, March 9th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.36.

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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