Seaport Global Securities Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Stock

Key Points

• Seaport Global Securities upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery's price target from $15.00 to $24.00, indicating a potential 23.06% upside from the current stock price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for its last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations significantly, with a revenue of $9.81 billion that also surpassed forecasts.
• Insider activity includes CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels selling over 530,000 shares and Director Anton J. Levy purchasing 75,000 shares, demonstrating mixed confidence in the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Seaport Global Securities from $15.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Seaport Global Securities' price objective suggests a potential upside of 23.06% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WBD. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.14.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WBD stock opened at $19.50 on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $7.25 and a 12 month high of $20.24. The business's 50 day moving average is $14.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $48.28 billion, a PE ratio of 64.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.73.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.79. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.73 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 2.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($4.07) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $10,350,463.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,141,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,252,425. This represents a 31.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anton J. Levy purchased 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.00 per share, for a total transaction of $825,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 949,000 shares in the company, valued at $10,439,000. This represents a 8.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 970,115 shares of company stock worth $17,818,490. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter valued at $306,848,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth $140,224,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter valued at about $96,971,000. Sound Shore Management Inc CT bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at about $97,951,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter worth about $77,896,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.

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