Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $29.00 to $31.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Warner Bros. Discovery traded as high as $30.92 and last traded at $30.80, with a volume of 234051856 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.80.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Freedom Capital raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Huber Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total value of $15,987,577.90. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 537,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,537,643.80. The trade was a 52.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth W. Lowe sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total transaction of $5,646,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 590,108 shares in the company, valued at $16,658,748.84. The trade was a 25.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,782,149 shares of company stock worth $77,455,972. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: State antitrust lawsuit settled: Paramount reached a settlement with attorneys general from 12 states, clearing what had been described as the final major legal hurdle to the merger. Management reportedly expects closing in roughly two weeks, potentially around September 30; delays could trigger a fee of approximately $650 million per quarter. Key terms of Paramount’s Warner Bros Discovery settlement with US states
• Positive Sentiment: Merger-related confidence: Reports say Paramount is considering adding Elon Musk to the investor group backing the acquisition. While unconfirmed, the possibility could support perceptions that Paramount is strengthening its financial backing for the deal. Paramount weighs adding Musk to investor group backing Warner deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increase: Morgan Stanley raised its WBD price target from $29 to $31 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, suggesting limited additional upside but acknowledging the stock’s improved near-term outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: Settlement terms include concessions: The agreement reportedly involves production and labor-related commitments. A Trump Justice Department official said the settlement added no new antitrust-related commitments, but the comments may not end political and regulatory scrutiny. Trump DOJ official comments on Paramount-Warner Bros. settlement
• Negative Sentiment: High leverage and execution risk: Analysts expect the combined company to carry more than $77 billion in debt, while insiders reportedly anticipate significant layoffs and technology-stack conflicts after closing. These concerns could limit the merger’s financial benefits. Merged Paramount-Warner Bros. streaming and debt analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Political opposition remains: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the transaction as allegedly corrupt, adding headline and reputational risk even as the legal settlement advances the deal. New York mayor criticizes Paramount-WBD merger

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,900 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter valued at $1,123,807,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP now owns 2,583,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,929,000 after buying an additional 583,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,482,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 0.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.62 and a 200-day moving average of $27.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $77.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.22 and a beta of 1.57.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.20. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 8.91% and a negative net margin of 8.77%.Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc is a global media and entertainment company that develops, produces and distributes television, film and digital content. Its portfolio includes Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO, CNN, Discovery, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, TNT Sports and other well-known brands.

The company operates streaming services including Max, which features HBO programming, Warner Bros. films, original series and other entertainment content, and discovery+, which focuses on lifestyle, documentary and nonfiction programming.