Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Holdings Lifted by Readystate Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Readystate Asset Management more than doubled its WBD position in the second quarter, increasing holdings by 132.1% to 3.85 million shares worth approximately $102.7 million. Warner Bros. Discovery became the fund’s largest holding, while institutional investors collectively owned 59.95% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $27.69. Recent recommendations ranged from “Strong Buy” to “Sell,” reflecting uncertainty around the company’s outlook.
• WBD beat quarterly EPS expectations at $0.06 versus the forecasted $0.14 loss, but revenue fell 11.2% year over year to $8.72 billion. Insider selling also continued, including CEO David Zaslav’s $21.7 million sale and a director’s $5.7 million sale.

Readystate Asset Management LP increased its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 132.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,851,600 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,191,929 shares during the period. Warner Bros. Discovery comprises 3.5% of Readystate Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Readystate Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.15% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $102,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.6% during the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 14,809 shares of the company's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 5,467 shares of the company's stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 64.3% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBD. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Freedom Capital raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Huber Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Zaslav sold 773,173 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total transaction of $21,656,575.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,807,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $190,690,231.34. The trade was a 10.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kenneth W. Lowe sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.35, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 790,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,399,561.80. The trade was a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,950,749 shares of company stock valued at $53,999,633. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

WBD stock opened at $28.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.77 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.26.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.20. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 8.91% and a negative net margin of 8.77%.The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery's quarterly revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery reached a deal with Turkey’s Doğuş Media Group to bring Turkish scripted programming to HBO Max. The agreement could improve the service’s international content offering and subscriber appeal. WBD partners with Doğuş to bring Turkish drama to HBO Max
• Positive Sentiment: WBD launched a shoppable streaming experience in Poland, creating a potential new advertising and commerce revenue channel. The financial impact is likely limited initially but supports its broader streaming monetization strategy. WBD launches shoppable streaming experience in Poland
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD will discontinue the standalone discovery+ app in India, apparently consolidating content within a broader HBO Max strategy. The move could reduce operating complexity, although it may risk disrupting some existing customers. WBD to discontinue standalone discovery+ app in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on WBD, indicating limited conviction that the stock’s recent gains will continue without clearer improvement in profitability and its streaming outlook. WBD given consensus Hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: A director sold 200,000 WBD shares for approximately $5.67 million, reducing his direct holdings by 20.2%. While the sale may be personal or portfolio-related, the sizable insider transaction can weigh on sentiment. SEC insider-trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: A reported state antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal, raising uncertainty over regulatory approval, timing and the potential value of the transaction. State antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal
• Negative Sentiment: Higher-rate expectations are pressuring higher-valuation media and streaming stocks. Although WBD has held relatively steady versus peers, the sector-wide repricing is limiting near-term upside. Rate repricing pressures streaming stocks

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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