Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Raised to Hold (C-) at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Warner Bros. Discovery was upgraded to a "hold" rating by Weiss Ratings, shifting from a previous "sell" rating, indicating a more favorable view of the company's stock.
• Several firms have issued positive outlooks, with Guggenheim increasing its price target for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.63, significantly surpassing expectations, with revenues also exceeding analyst predictions at $9.81 billion.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Moffett Nathanson upped their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.61.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

NASDAQ:WBD traded down $0.71 on Wednesday, reaching $17.89. 44,934,357 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,337,406. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.65. The firm has a market cap of $44.29 billion, a PE ratio of 59.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.73. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $7.25 and a 12 month high of $20.24.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.79. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.73 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%.The business's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($4.07) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 289,322 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.48, for a total transaction of $4,768,026.56. Following the sale, the insider owned 402,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,632,606.72. The trade was a 41.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Anton J. Levy bought 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $2,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 874,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,526,600. This trade represents a 40.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 970,115 shares of company stock valued at $17,818,490 in the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 97,080.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 9,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 9,708 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.9% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 26,737 shares of the company's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 13.6% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 22,139 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 19.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 27,355 shares of the company's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 4,446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company's stock.

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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