Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Trading Down 4.3% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Warner Bros. Discovery's stock price fell by 4.3% to $17.80, with trading volume down 53% from the average, indicating a significant drop in investor interest.
• Equities analysts have mixed sentiments about the stock, with Guggenheim and Seaport Global Securities upgrading their target prices significantly while Cowen downgraded it to "hold," indicating divergent views on its future performance.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, achieving $9.81 billion in revenue, but still faces challenges with a consensus earnings forecast of -4.33 per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 4.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $17.71 and last traded at $17.80. Approximately 23,637,582 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 50,212,277 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WBD shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seaport Global Securities raised their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Cowen downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.61.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.66 and a 200-day moving average of $11.65.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($4.07) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were 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 $22,252,425. The trade was a 31.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anton J. Levy acquired 250,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.90 per share, with a total value of $2,725,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 874,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,526,600. The trade was a 40.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 970,115 shares of company stock valued at $17,818,490. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.8% in the first quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 101,522 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.6% in the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 134,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.6% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 8,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holistic Financial Partners raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.2% in the second quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 18,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 898 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.