Key Points
- Amy Girdwood sold 75,030 WBD shares at an average price of $28.25 on March 3 for about $2.12 million, reducing her stake by 6.81% to 1,027,283 shares.
- Warner Bros. Discovery reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.10), missing the $0.09 consensus while generating $9.46 billion in revenue (down 5.7% YoY), and the stock recently traded near $27.80
- Deal and sentiment dynamics are driving market interest — reports of a potential sale to Paramount and heavy insider selling (including large CEO disposals) are weighing on sentiment, while analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $25.34.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) insider Amy Girdwood sold 75,030 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $2,119,597.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,027,283 shares in the company, valued at $29,020,744.75. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.
Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.7%
WBD traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,069,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,215,475. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.52 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $28.29 and its 200-day moving average is $23.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.87 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. Warner Bros. Discovery's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WBD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barrington Research cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Moffett Nathanson downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.34.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Warner Bros. Discovery this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery — coverage focuses on what the sale means for assets such as CNN and Turner (possible strategic simplification, value realization, and a takeover premium that supports WBD’s share price). Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Buy-side leadership signals: David Ellison (Paramount/Skydance) vows CNN will operate independently post-deal — reduces some regulatory/brand-integration risk and reassures that news assets may be preserved rather than dismantled. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: M&A analysis and investor materials emphasize strategic reshaping and bidder dynamics — analysts and advisors are framing the transaction as a value-reset event for WBD shareholders. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Industry/creative impact: IMAX’s CEO highlights WBD films among Oscar nominees — positive for franchise/IP credibility but limited direct near-term share impact. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: After the collapsed Netflix bid earlier in the process, Business Insider outlines how Netflix benefited financially from walking away — relevant for competitive landscape but not directly altering WBD takeover dynamics. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Third-party activity (reports of investors buying Netflix debt amid the WBD fight) signals opportunistic moves around the media contest but is peripheral to WBD’s core valuation drivers. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Large insider selling by multiple executives including CEO David Zaslav (4,004,149 shares), the CFO and other insiders — sizable disposals can signal liquidity taking, tax/planned sales or concern about upside post-deal and are weighing on sentiment. SEC filings detail the transactions. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Argus issues a pessimistic forecast for WBD stock — an explicit analyst downgrade/bearish note may cap upside and encourage short-term profit-taking. Article Title
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company's stock worth $8,161,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966,278 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,912,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,346 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company's stock worth $510,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,195 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,123,807,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company's stock worth $685,413,000 after purchasing an additional 18,291,865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company's stock.
About Warner Bros. Discovery
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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