Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Warner Bros. Discovery Call Options (NASDAQ:WBD)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy bullish options activity: Traders bought 138,382 Warner Bros. Discovery call options on Monday, about 76% above the stock’s typical daily call volume.
• Insiders sold shares recently: Directors Fazal F. Merchant and Paul A. Gould disclosed major stock sales totaling over $17 million, reducing their positions significantly.
• Stock and fundamentals remain mixed: WBD rose 0.9% to $26.47, but its latest earnings missed EPS estimates while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target near $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 138,382 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 76% compared to the typical daily volume of 78,823 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total transaction of $961,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total value of $16,410,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 244,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,683,163.95. This represents a 71.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth about $1,123,807,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,492,112,000 after acquiring an additional 18,736,600 shares in the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $685,413,000 after acquiring an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,916,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,189,000 after acquiring an additional 5,798,592 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.9%

WBD traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.47. The stock had a trading volume of 32,953,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,218,539. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $27.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.81 and a beta of 1.54. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 1-year low of $9.11 and a 1-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) 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 firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -0.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised 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 note on Thursday, May 7th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Moffett Nathanson raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.04.

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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