Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $18.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.65% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WBD. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Cowen cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.68.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of WBD opened at $21.25 on Wednesday. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 52 week low of $7.35 and a 52 week high of $21.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.84, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.22 and a 200-day moving average of $12.35.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.79. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 2.14% and a net margin of 2.00%.The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($4.07) EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 289,322 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.48, for a total value of $4,768,026.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 402,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,632,606.72. This trade represents a 41.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 530,793 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $10,350,463.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,141,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,252,425. This trade represents a 31.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 970,115 shares of company stock valued at $17,818,490 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JB Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 13,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 22,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 22,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.