Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 123,399 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 93% compared to the typical daily volume of 64,011 call options.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock traded up $0.85 on Monday, hitting $27.44. 28,251,283 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,872,156. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12-month low of $10.76 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $68.79 billion, a PE ratio of -39.15 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $26.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.55.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.04.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.5% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.6% in the first quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 14,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.