Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Director Sells $5,670,000.00 in Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Director Kenneth Lowe sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.35, for a total value of $5,670,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 790,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,399,561.80. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.25. 11,491,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,672,727. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a one year low of $11.77 and a one year 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.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.20. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 8.91%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2,593.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 92,996,028 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth $1,123,807,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter worth $338,263,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 131.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,829,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,800,000 after buying an additional 7,851,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at about $74,916,000. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.69.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

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.