Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Price Target Raised to $31.00

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $29.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Freedom Capital raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays began coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price target on the stock. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.34.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 0.3%

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $30.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $77.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.28 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 1-year low of $17.08 and a 1-year high of $30.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 8.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 29,115 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total value of $819,004.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 86,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,444,665.78. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anton J. Levy sold 340,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.39, for a total value of $9,652,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 618,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,546,922.13. This trade represents a 35.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,782,149 shares of company stock valued at $77,455,972. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,900 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,634,000 after buying an additional 1,028,346 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth $1,123,807,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 29.1% in the first quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP now owns 2,583,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,929,000 after buying an additional 583,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at about $4,482,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Progress toward resolving litigation has improved the prospect of the Paramount-WBD transaction closing. Paramount has begun syndicating a proposed $7.5 billion senior secured term loan, part of a broader financing package for the acquisition. Paramount Moves Ahead With $7.5 Billion Debt Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to describe the combined company as a potentially powerful streaming business, bringing together Paramount+ and HBO Max. Reports that Paramount is considering Elon Musk as an additional equity backer could also strengthen the buyer’s financing resources, although the investment remains unconfirmed. Merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Streaming Powerhouse
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported for September shows zero shares sold short and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio. The figure conflicts with the description of a “large increase” and may reflect a data or reporting issue, limiting its usefulness as a trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: A judge delayed approval of the settlement intended to resolve the legal challenge to the Paramount-WBD merger. The delay extends closing uncertainty and was associated with reports that Warner Bros. shares moved lower. Paramount-WBD Merger Hits a Delay
• Negative Sentiment: Paramount’s need to raise approximately $7.5 billion in secured debt highlights the substantial leverage required to finance the deal. Analysts have estimated that the merged business could carry more than $77 billion of debt, increasing financial risk and limiting flexibility.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of employee unease and concerns about Warner Bros.’ brand and studio identity under Paramount ownership point to potential integration, restructuring and talent-retention challenges. Political criticism of the transaction adds another source of regulatory and reputational risk. Sturm Und Drang At Warner Bros Amid Paramount Merger

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc is a global media and entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes television, film and digital content. Its portfolio includes Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO, CNN, Discovery, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, TNT Sports and other well-known brands.

The company operates streaming services including Max, which features HBO programming, Warner Bros. films, original series and other entertainment content, and discovery+, which focuses on lifestyle, documentary and nonfiction programming.