Amy Girdwood Sells 262,285 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) insider Amy Girdwood sold 262,285 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $7,338,734.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 539,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,091,684.52. The trade was a 32.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ WBD opened at $28.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $70.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.08 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.08 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.23 and its 200 day moving average is $27.24.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2,593.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 96,581,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,574,865,000 after acquiring an additional 92,996,028 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $1,123,807,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter worth $338,263,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 131.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,829,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,851,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at $74,916,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount is reportedly preparing to meet with state attorneys general in late October to discuss settlement terms related to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount CEO David Ellison is also considering strategies to secure clearance in California. Progress toward resolving antitrust concerns could improve deal certainty and support WBD’s valuation. Paramount settlement talks article Paramount California clearance article
• Neutral Sentiment: The proposed transaction remains the dominant catalyst. However, a reported $7 million daily ticking fee is approaching, increasing the financial stakes if closing is delayed. Investors are likely focused on whether regulatory negotiations can prevent additional costs and keep the deal on schedule.
• Neutral Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery is promoting upcoming television programming and using youth-focused marketing to build interest in the Basketball World Cup. These initiatives may support audience engagement, but they are less material to near-term valuation than the Paramount transaction. Warner Bros. TV programming article Basketball World Cup marketing article
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders sold a combined 462,285 shares worth approximately $13.0 million. Director Kenneth Lowe reduced his position by 25.31%, while insider Amy Girdwood cut hers by 32.72%. Although insider sales do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals, the size of the transactions can weigh on sentiment, particularly while WBD faces regulatory and execution risks. Kenneth Lowe SEC filing Amy Girdwood SEC filing

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.