The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) had its price objective boosted by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $11.50 to $13.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 31.55% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Cowen lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.64.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD opened at $18.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $47.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.06, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.59. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 1 year low of $7.25 and a 1 year high of $20.24.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.79. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 2.00% and a return on equity of 2.14%. The business 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 firm earned ($4.07) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $10,350,463.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,141,150 shares in the company, valued at $22,252,425. The trade was a 31.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $2,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 252,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,544,352. The trade was a 37.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 970,115 shares of company stock worth $17,818,490. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBD. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 101,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 134,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.6% during 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 during the period. Holistic Financial Partners raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.2% during 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. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 8,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.