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

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": 23 analysts cover WBD (2 sell, 13 hold, 7 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $26.30.
• Recent results and valuation: WBD reported Q EPS of ($0.10) vs. $0.09 expected while revenue was $9.46B (slightly above estimates) but down 5.7% year‑over‑year; the stock trades around a P/E of 93 with a market cap near $67 billion and a 52‑week range of $8.06–$30.00.
• Insider selling and governance risks: Insiders have sold roughly 8.21M shares (~$230.7M) in the past 90 days (including a large CFO sale), and concerns are heightened by CEO David Zaslav’s reported $165M pay package and lingering merger/regulatory uncertainty.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty-three analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.3026.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WBD. Weiss Ratings upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.05 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.59 and its 200 day moving average is $26.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $67.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.28 and a beta of 1.63. Warner Bros. Discovery has a one year low of $8.06 and a one year high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.20) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 374,323 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $10,499,760.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 663,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,607,809. The trade was a 36.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.82, for a total value of $1,162,430.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 604,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,821,808.12. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WBD. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: European regulator may clear the Paramount–Skydance deal, which lifted shares on hopes the wider industry consolidation (and WBD’s role in the sector) will proceed with fewer regulatory roadblocks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: WBD renewed CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels’s contract through April 2028—a sign of financial leadership continuity that reduces execution risk during strategic moves and integration work. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor David Einhorn is reportedly bullish on WBD, which can attract attention from other value-oriented funds and support the stock via perceived activist/long-term interest. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/ownership filing shows the combined Paramount–WBD entity would be ~38.5% owned by Middle Eastern funds — important for deal financing and governance but may raise scrutiny; impact depends on regulator and investor reactions. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes WBD is a trending/widely watched stock (Zacks, other outlets); elevated attention can increase volatility but is ambiguous for direction. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation analysis highlights tension between market multiples and WBD’s cash-flow outlook—this keeps investors debating whether the current price already prices in potential merger/streaming upside. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CEO David Zaslav’s 2025 pay reportedly more than tripled to $165M—this raises corporate-governance and shareholder-cost concerns that can weigh on sentiment, especially for ESG- and cost-conscious investors. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis pieces highlight significant regulatory and strategic hurdles that could still block or complicate a large-scale Paramount–WBD tie-up; lingering deal uncertainty keeps downside risk alive. Article Title

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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