Brokerages Set Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Target Price at $27.69

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.6912.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WBD. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 0.9%

WBD stock opened at $27.99 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.04 and a beta of 1.55. Warner Bros. Discovery has a fifty-two week low of $11.25 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.20. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merger expectations are supporting WBD. Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance shares are rallying as recent market activity suggests the Hollywood megamerger’s closing odds may be improving. Paramount’s reported willingness to consider selling CNN to address antitrust concerns could help resolve a key obstacle. Paramount and Warner Bros. Stocks Are Rallying
• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros.’ “The End of Oak Street” is targeting as much as $48 million globally in its debut. A strong theatrical opening could provide a modest near-term boost to studio and film-distribution sentiment, although the impact on WBD’s overall financial results is likely limited. The End of Oak Street targets global debut
• Neutral Sentiment: The merger remains tied up in antitrust litigation. The parties have outlined discovery and other pretrial deadlines, with the legal process potentially extending toward a March 2027 trial. The long timeline keeps merger-related volatility elevated and delays certainty for WBD shareholders. Paramount-WBD antitrust trial schedule
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry groups including the DGA and IATSE are urging a faster resolution to the Paramount-WBD legal standoff, while Teamsters members are protesting Paramount over merger-related commitments. The developments increase political and labor pressure but do not yet establish the transaction’s outcome. Teamsters protest Paramount over merger
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD announced incubator productions for Food Network and discovery+, supporting its content pipeline but offering limited immediate financial impact. WBD Food Network and discovery+ productions
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales may weigh on investor confidence. Director Kenneth Lowe sold 120,000 shares for approximately $3.24 million, and Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares worth about $15.99 million. The filings do not explain the motivations, but the sizable reductions can be viewed as a negative sentiment signal. Gerhard Zeiler WBD share sale

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CEO David Zaslav sold 194,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $5,463,871.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,807,934 shares in the company, valued at $190,758,310.68. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 71,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total transaction of $1,985,207.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,609.25. The trade was a 68.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,750,749 shares of company stock worth $48,329,633 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,346 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth about $1,123,807,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 27,462,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,496,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,891,000 after purchasing an additional 876,869 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.