SEB Asset Management AB Takes $13.19 Million Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 480,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,191,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 21,228 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 3,779 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 55,837 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.8% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,062 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: The proposed Paramount-WBD merger has been temporarily halted, removing an immediate takeover catalyst and increasing uncertainty around deal completion. Paramount and Warner Bros. merger hit with temporary restraining order
• Negative Sentiment: A coalition of state attorneys general is challenging the transaction on antitrust grounds, which could prolong the legal process or derail the acquisition altogether. Judge orders Paramount to temporarily pause Warner Bros acquisition
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage also noted WBD closed at its lowest level since Dec. 4, reflecting weaker investor sentiment as the merger timeline becomes less certain. Warner Bros. Closes at Lowest Since Dec. 4 | Closing Bell

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Huber Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.04.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of WBD stock opened at $25.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $64.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.94 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.76 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.46.

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

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.