Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Holdings Raised by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 39.3% in the first quarter, buying 1.69 million more shares and bringing its total holding to nearly 6.0 million shares worth about $163.7 million.
• The biggest near-term issue for WBD is the Paramount takeover attempt, which faces legal challenges from California and 11 other states that could delay or potentially stall the deal.
• Despite some recent analyst upgrades, sentiment remains cautious: WBD’s stock is around $26.87, the consensus rating is Hold, and the company recently reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Free Report) by 39.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,978,048 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,686,926 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.24% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $163,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Huber Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 1.5%

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $26.87 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.37 billion, a P/E 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, Inc. has a one year low of $10.76 and a one year high of $30.00.

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). The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The firm's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

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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