Empyrean Capital Partners LP Acquires Shares of 2,000,000 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,640,000. Warner Bros. Discovery makes up 2.0% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned about 0.08% of Warner Bros. Discovery as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,161,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $1,912,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter valued at $1,123,807,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake 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 valued at $685,413,000 after acquiring an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 27,462,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,813 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Chinese regulators reportedly cleared the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, removing another hurdle for the deal and boosting the odds that WBD shareholders receive the agreed cash value. Chinese regulators clear Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros Discovery merger, source says
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say the DOJ has already approved the merger, which lowers regulatory risk and strengthens the merger-arbitrage case for WBD. Paramount Skydance wins DOJ approval for Warner Bros. Discovery merger
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights the deal as a major catalyst, noting WBD still trades below the $31 cash buyout price, leaving a potential merger-arbitrage spread for investors. Plot Twist: How the $110B Paramount-Warner Deal Rewrites Media
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector articles discussing APAC growth, local content, and broader streaming competition provide background on the media landscape, but do not appear to be a direct stock-moving catalyst for WBD today. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney and WBD on Local Content and APAC Growth
• Negative Sentiment: The stock also weakened in the latest session, with coverage pointing to WBD falling more than the broader market, reflecting ongoing investor caution despite the merger news. Here’s Why Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Fell More Than Broader Market

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Argus decreased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $26.24 on Thursday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.27 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The firm has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a PE ratio of -37.49 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 4.77% and a negative net margin of 4.67%.The firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current year.

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.