Benchmark Reiterates Hold Rating for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barrington Research lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.11.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

WBD stock opened at $28.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.53. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $7.52 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a market capitalization of $71.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.59 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.34% and a net margin of 1.28%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In related news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 4,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total transaction of $119,208.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 100,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,919,821.04. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $7,168,323.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at $27,108,730. The trade was a 20.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 257,116 shares of company stock valued at $7,546,331. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 51,920 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 21,228 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 55,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.7% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 356,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,089,000 after buying an additional 16,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner’s board said Paramount Skydance’s updated $31-per-share, all-cash proposal could be a “Company Superior Proposal”—Paramount also added financing protections/extra equity commitments that reduce execution risk, which supports a higher guaranteed takeover value for WBD holders. PARAMOUNT COMMENTS ON WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY BOARD’S DETERMINATION
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s $31 bid and the board’s shift toward entertaining a superior proposal increase the near-term takeover premium on WBD shares (the $31 headline price is above recent trading levels), giving a clearer path to a cash exit for shareholders if that deal closes. After PSKY’s $31 Bid, Could Netflix Exit the WBD Bidding War?
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD reported Q4 results that missed EPS expectations (loss of $0.10 vs. a small consensus gain) and showed ~6% revenue decline year-over-year; streaming subscriber gains were offset by weakness in linear TV and studios—this weak operating backdrop complicates valuation and could affect regulatory/financing conversations. Warner Bros posts 6% fall in quarterly revenue, deal talks in focus
• Negative Sentiment: Netflix publicly declined to raise its offer and has signaled it will not match Paramount’s terms, effectively stepping aside—that removes a bidder that many investors thought could push the price higher, capping upside for WBD if Paramount closes at $31. Netflix, Paramount shares jump as months-long fight for Warner Bros ends
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political scrutiny remains a wildcard—state and federal reviews of large media deals could delay or block any transaction (Netflix’s earlier regulatory concerns and third?party scrutiny increase execution risk for a prospective buyer). 11 US states urge DOJ to thoroughly probe Netflix-Warner Bros deal

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.