Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WBD. Huber Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.50 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.18 on Monday. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 1 year low of $9.11 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.31. The company has a market cap of $68.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.83 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 4.77%. The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -0.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total transaction of $16,410,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 244,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,683,163.95. The trade was a 71.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.82, for a total transaction of $1,162,430.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 604,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,821,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 676,784 shares of company stock valued at $18,534,231 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 118.0% during the first quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 140.0% during the first quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. now owns 96,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 56,000 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 54,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter valued at $366,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.