Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 23.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,253,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 685,266 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $44,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 3rd quarter worth about $443,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 29,882.6% during the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 62,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 61,857 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,463,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,005 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,065,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,808,000 after buying an additional 37,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,572,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,019,000 after acquiring an additional 16,006 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $27.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $69.21 billion, a PE ratio of 96.31 and a beta of 1.60. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.52 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.31.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly 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). Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.20) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WBD. TD Cowen increased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Arete Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.25 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Argus reduced 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 research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barrington Research lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.99.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount/Skydance agreed to buy WBD assets in a deal that could deliver a takeover premium and simplify WBD’s portfolio — this is the primary bullish catalyst for shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Buyer leadership (David Ellison/Paramount/Skydance) publicly pledges to keep CNN independent, reducing regulatory and integration risk that might otherwise erode deal value. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and M&A presentations are framing the transaction as a strategic reset that could unlock value for WBD shareholders (materials outline bidder dynamics and potential synergies). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Netflix has stepped back from the WBD bidding war and is refocusing on core streaming strategy — removes one potential suitor but also leaves bidders like Paramount to set the deal terms. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes Netflix received cash from its failed WBD bid and may redeploy capital elsewhere; this is relevant to the competitive landscape but not directly to WBD’s valuation. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-party market activity (reports of investors buying Netflix bonds and other opportunistic moves) reflects investor jockeying around the media deal but is peripheral to WBD’s fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large, coordinated insider selling reported this week (CEO David Zaslav sold ~4.0M shares; CFO and other senior execs also sold large blocks) — big disposals can pressure sentiment and suggest insiders are taking liquidity or reducing exposure ahead of/after deal activity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider sales (e.g., Amy Girdwood) and multiple large Form 4s amplify the selling signal and may trigger short-term profit-taking. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure: Moffett Nathanson downgraded WBD to neutral (maintains $31 target) and Argus published a pessimistic forecast — bearish notes can cap the stock’s near-term upside and encourage selling. Read More. • Read More.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 1,580,331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total value of $44,249,268.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 690,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,320,784. The trade was a 69.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 617,580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.25, for a total transaction of $17,446,635.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 691,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,536,852.50. The trade was a 47.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,782,159 shares of company stock valued at $219,565,426 in the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.