Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD Shares Acquired by Readystate Asset Management LP

Readystate Asset Management LP increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 132.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,851,600 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,191,929 shares during the quarter. Warner Bros. Discovery accounts for about 3.5% of Readystate Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Readystate Asset Management LP’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $102,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 313,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,371,000 after purchasing an additional 17,264 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 89.8% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 164,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 78,009 shares in the last quarter. XP Advisory US Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth about $66,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More 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 Do?u? 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 Do?u? 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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth W. Lowe sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.35, for a total transaction of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 790,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,399,561.80. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total transaction of $15,987,577.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 537,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,537,643.80. This trade represents a 52.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,950,749 shares of company stock worth $53,999,633. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

WBD opened at $28.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.77 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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

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.