Versor Investments LP Acquires Shares of 332,757 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP opened a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery, buying 332,757 shares valued at about $9.59 million. The stake represents roughly 1.5% of Versor’s portfolio and is its 12th-largest holding.
• Brokerages have been adjusting their views on WBD, with recent target-price hikes from firms including TD Cowen, UBS, and Sanford C. Bernstein. Still, the stock’s overall analyst consensus remains Hold, with an average target price of $26.36.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss, posting EPS of -$1.17 versus estimates for a much smaller loss, while revenue came in at $8.89 billion. Insider selling has also been notable, with executives and insiders unloading millions of shares over the past 90 days.

Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 332,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,590,000. Warner Bros. Discovery comprises approximately 1.5% of Versor Investments LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WBD. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,730.8% during the fourth quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 1,256 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WBD. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Moffett Nathanson raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. 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. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 617,580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $17,446,635.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 691,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,536,852.50. The trade was a 47.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 1,580,331 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $44,249,268.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 690,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,320,784. The trade was a 69.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $68.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.91 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.82 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.77.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) 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 company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.15 earnings per share 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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