Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Receives $27.04 Average Price Target from Analysts

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have issued a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.0417.

WBD has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD opened at $26.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.48. The stock has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.39 and a beta of 1.54. Warner Bros. Discovery has a one year low of $10.76 and a one year high of $30.00.

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 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 firm had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.07 EPS for the current year.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: A federal judge will rule by July 22 on California’s request to temporarily freeze Paramount’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, increasing the risk of a near-term delay to the deal. Judge delays ruling on California’s bid to freeze Paramount’s $111B takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: California and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general are pushing an antitrust case to pause the merger, and media reports suggest Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount may have to delay closing while the legal fight plays out. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Faces State Lawsuit Over $110 Billion Merger Pause
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount has publicly argued the states’ antitrust case is unusually weak, but that defense does not remove the immediate legal uncertainty around the transaction. Paramount Calls the States’ Antitrust Case Against Warner Bros. Merger ‘One of the Weakest’ in Modern History
• Neutral Sentiment: Several shareholder lawsuits and related responses have added more headlines, but these appear secondary to the main issue: whether regulators or the court will block or delay the deal. Paramount and Warner Bros expect a delay in closing the deal

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,161,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 worth $1,912,634,000 after buying an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,123,807,000. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings 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 valued at $791,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,496,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,891,000 after purchasing an additional 876,869 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently 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.