Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) CEO Sells $5,463,871.98 in Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) CEO David Zaslav sold 194,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $5,463,871.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,807,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,758,310.68. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

David Zaslav also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 13th, David Zaslav sold 773,173 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $21,656,575.73.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,494,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,710,194. The company has a market cap of $70.17 billion, a PE ratio of -22.04 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.54 and a 200-day moving average of $27.17. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.25 and a 52 week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WBD. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,301,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,900 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,008,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,069,000 after purchasing an additional 571,612 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares in the last quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,372,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,912,634,000 after buying an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded 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. Finally, Huber Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.69.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

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.