Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Arete Research

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reiterated by analysts at Arete Research in a research report issued on Friday. They currently have a $31.25 target price on the stock. Arete Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 8.51% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WBD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $14.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.11.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of WBD opened at $28.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $71.37 billion, a PE ratio of 151.59 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.53. Warner Bros. Discovery has a twelve month low of $7.52 and a twelve month high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 1.28%.The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $7,168,323.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 918,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,108,730. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total value of $138,100.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 110,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,040,520.08. This trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 257,116 shares of company stock worth $7,546,331. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WBD. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 6,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner’s board said Paramount Skydance’s updated $31-per-share, all-cash proposal could be a “Company Superior Proposal”—Paramount also added financing protections/extra equity commitments that reduce execution risk, which supports a higher guaranteed takeover value for WBD holders. PARAMOUNT COMMENTS ON WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY BOARD’S DETERMINATION
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s $31 bid and the board’s shift toward entertaining a superior proposal increase the near-term takeover premium on WBD shares (the $31 headline price is above recent trading levels), giving a clearer path to a cash exit for shareholders if that deal closes. After PSKY’s $31 Bid, Could Netflix Exit the WBD Bidding War?
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD reported Q4 results that missed EPS expectations (loss of $0.10 vs. a small consensus gain) and showed ~6% revenue decline year-over-year; streaming subscriber gains were offset by weakness in linear TV and studios—this weak operating backdrop complicates valuation and could affect regulatory/financing conversations. Warner Bros posts 6% fall in quarterly revenue, deal talks in focus
• Negative Sentiment: Netflix publicly declined to raise its offer and has signaled it will not match Paramount’s terms, effectively stepping aside—that removes a bidder that many investors thought could push the price higher, capping upside for WBD if Paramount closes at $31. Netflix, Paramount shares jump as months-long fight for Warner Bros ends
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political scrutiny remains a wildcard—state and federal reviews of large media deals could delay or block any transaction (Netflix’s earlier regulatory concerns and third‑party scrutiny increase execution risk for a prospective buyer). 11 US states urge DOJ to thoroughly probe Netflix-Warner Bros deal

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

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.