Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Warner Bros. Discovery has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from 24 analysts, with 16 recommending hold, 7 buy, and 1 strong buy. The average target price is $16.61.
• Insider sales include CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels offloading 530,793 shares at an average price of $19.50, leading to a 31.75% decrease in ownership, while another insider, Bruce Campbell, sold 289,322 shares.
• Warner Bros. Discovery reported a revenue of $9.81 billion for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with earnings per share of $0.63 beating expectations by $0.79.

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.6111.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBD. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Cowen downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,141,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,252,425. This represents a 31.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 289,322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.48, for a total value of $4,768,026.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 402,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,632,606.72. This represents a 41.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 970,115 shares of company stock valued at $17,818,490. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at approximately $306,848,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter valued at approximately $140,224,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter valued at approximately $96,971,000. Sound Shore Management Inc CT acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at approximately $97,951,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at approximately $77,896,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $17.10 on Monday. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 1-year low of $7.25 and a 1-year high of $20.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.93 and a 200-day moving average of $11.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $42.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.00, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.73.

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

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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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