Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Trading Up 20.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Warner Bros. Discovery's stock surged 20.9% after Wells Fargo & Company raised its price target from $13.00 to $14.00, maintaining an equal weight rating.
• In Q2 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery reported earnings of $0.63 per share, significantly beating expectations of ($0.16) per share, with revenues of $9.81 billion.
• Director Anton J. Levy acquired 250,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery at an average price of $10.90 per share, increasing his stake by over 40%.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 20.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $13.00 to $14.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Warner Bros. Discovery traded as high as $13.50 and last traded at $15.16. Approximately 67,036,316 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 41% from the average daily volume of 47,403,480 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.54.

WBD has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.20.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, Director Anton J. Levy bought 250,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $10.90 per share, for a total transaction of $2,725,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 874,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,526,600. This represents a 40.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 90.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 640,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,335,000 after acquiring an additional 304,575 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 8.9% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 30,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 52.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,963,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407,202 shares during the period. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter worth approximately $235,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,365,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a PE ratio of 52.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $12.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.57.

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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($4.07) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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