Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest for Warner Bros. Discovery surged by 425.8% in July, totaling 111,740,000 shares short sold, indicating a notable increase in bearish sentiment towards the stock.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.18) per share, missing estimates, with revenue of $8.98 billion down 9.8% year-over-year.
• Analysts have set a price target for Warner Bros. Discovery with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.66.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 111,740,000 shares, anincreaseof425.8% from the June 30th total of 21,250,000 shares. Currently,4.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 55,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 55,220,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently,4.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBD opened at $12.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $11.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.24. The stock has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.92 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery has a twelve month low of $6.64 and a twelve month high of $13.86.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $8.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 30.56% and a negative net margin of 28.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.40) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $12.66.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.6% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 8,452 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.1% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 45,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 2,383 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Investments LLC now owns 346,654 shares of the company's stock worth $3,973,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 8.8% during the second quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,545 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

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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