Insider Selling: Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Director Sells 35,000 Shares of Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Director Fazal Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total transaction of $961,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

NASDAQ WBD traded up $0.37 on Monday, hitting $27.51. 29,574,013 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,466,773. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.15 and a 200-day moving average of $23.94. The stock has a market cap of $68.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.87 and a beta of 1.60. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.52 and a 52 week high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued 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 net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: WBD’s films dominated the Oscars — “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” collected multiple major awards, positioning Warner Bros. as the night’s biggest winner and reinforcing the studio’s content credentials. This can support subscriber retention, licensing value and bargaining power in M&A talks. Warner Bros. Was the Night’s Biggest Winner
• Positive Sentiment: CEO David Zaslav sent a company‑wide message celebrating the “historic” night, which may lift internal morale and public perception — helpful for near‑term PR and employee stability ahead of the takeover. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav Celebrates ‘Historic’ Oscar Night
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage suggests the awards could make WBD’s content slate more attractive to buyers and partners, potentially strengthening the strategic rationale or price for the Paramount Skydance bid — but this is speculative until formal deal changes or filings appear. Warner Bros. Cleans Up at the Oscars. Why It Bodes Well for the Paramount Takeover.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry analysis frames the night as a triumph for original filmmaking and a positive signal for WBD’s creative pipeline — good for long‑term brand value but not an immediate guarantee of revenue upside. Oscars: In Changing Times This Was A Night Of Triumph
• Negative Sentiment: Major caveat — the mood is “bittersweet” because WBD is in a pending $110 billion sale to Paramount Skydance; takeover complexity, regulatory scrutiny and integration risk remain the primary stock drivers and could outweigh short‑term awards momentum. Investors should watch deal announcements and regulatory developments closely. Warner Bros’ Oscar triumph a bittersweet moment as Paramount deal looms

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,161,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% in 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 buying an additional 1,028,346 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,824,000 after buying an additional 1,233,195 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,123,807,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% during 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 buying an additional 18,291,865 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WBD shares. Huber Research downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barrington Research lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Arete Research restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.25 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.30.

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.