Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from “strong sell” to “hold”, though the stock’s overall analyst consensus remains a Hold with an average target price of $27.04.
• The company reported Q1 earnings of -$1.17 per share, missing expectations by a wide margin, while revenue came in at $8.89 billion, roughly in line with estimates and slightly below year-ago levels.
• Warner Bros. Discovery shares were down about 0.3% to $27.18, and recent filings showed notable insider selling as well as continued strong institutional ownership.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WBD. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Raymond James Financial restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, February 27th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.50 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.18 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 52 week low of $9.11 and a 52 week high of $30.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.83 and a beta of 1.54.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.82, for a total transaction of $1,162,430.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 604,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,821,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total transaction of $961,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. This trade represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 676,784 shares of company stock worth $18,534,231. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,160 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 118.0% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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