Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) CAO Sells $819,004.95 in Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) CAO Lori Locke sold 29,115 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.13, for a total transaction of $819,004.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 86,906 shares in the company, valued at $2,444,665.78. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of WBD stock opened at $27.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $69.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.89 and a beta of 1.57. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.08 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.22.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 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 company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBD. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,346 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at $1,123,807,000. HBK Investments L P grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 18,965,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604,732 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,900 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 16,324,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640,916 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Seaport Research Partners cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.22.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The Federal Communications Commission approved foreign investment of up to 49.5% in the Paramount Skydance-backed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The decision removes a significant foreign-ownership hurdle and improves the probability that the proposed transaction will proceed, although additional regulatory and legal approvals remain. US FCC approves foreign investment in Paramount Warner merger deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays initiated coverage of WBD with an “equal weight” rating and a $29 price target, implying limited upside from recent trading levels. The firm reportedly highlighted deleveraging and restructuring risks associated with the roughly $110 billion merger. Barclays flags deleveraging and restructuring risks in Paramount-WBD merger
• Negative Sentiment: California’s attorney general said the Paramount-WBD transaction could harm the state’s video market, adding to opposition from policymakers. Separately, reports that Paramount is considering leaving California underscore the political and legal tensions surrounding the deal and raise the risk of delays or a failed transaction. California attorney general says Paramount deal would hurt the state
• Negative Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Accounting Officer Lori Locke sold 29,115 shares for approximately $819,000, reducing her direct ownership by about 25%. The insider transaction is a modest sentiment negative, though it does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals. Warner Bros. Discovery insider transaction filing

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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.