Saudi Central Bank Raises Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Saudi Central Bank raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,916 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 78,009 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $4,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 111.2% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at $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. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 64.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total transaction of $15,987,577.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 537,436 shares in the company, valued at $14,537,643.80. This trade represents a 52.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Zaslav sold 194,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $5,463,871.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,807,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,758,310.68. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,950,749 shares of company stock valued at $53,999,633. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $28.25 on Monday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.77 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.26.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.20. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 8.91% and a negative net margin of 8.77%.The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.69.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Bros. Discovery this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery reached a deal with Turkey’s Doğuş Media Group to bring Turkish scripted programming to HBO Max. The agreement could improve the service’s international content offering and subscriber appeal. WBD partners with Doğuş to bring Turkish drama to HBO Max
• Positive Sentiment: WBD launched a shoppable streaming experience in Poland, creating a potential new advertising and commerce revenue channel. The financial impact is likely limited initially but supports its broader streaming monetization strategy. WBD launches shoppable streaming experience in Poland
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD will discontinue the standalone discovery+ app in India, apparently consolidating content within a broader HBO Max strategy. The move could reduce operating complexity, although it may risk disrupting some existing customers. WBD to discontinue standalone discovery+ app in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on WBD, indicating limited conviction that the stock’s recent gains will continue without clearer improvement in profitability and its streaming outlook. WBD given consensus Hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: A director sold 200,000 WBD shares for approximately $5.67 million, reducing his direct holdings by 20.2%. While the sale may be personal or portfolio-related, the sizable insider transaction can weigh on sentiment. SEC insider-trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: A reported state antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal, raising uncertainty over regulatory approval, timing and the potential value of the transaction. State antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal
• Negative Sentiment: Higher-rate expectations are pressuring higher-valuation media and streaming stocks. Although WBD has held relatively steady versus peers, the sector-wide repricing is limiting near-term upside. Rate repricing pressures streaming stocks

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.