RFG Advisory LLC Cuts Holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

RFG Advisory LLC cut its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 193,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,347 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $5,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,492,112,000 after purchasing an additional 18,736,600 shares during the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% in the third quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,413,000 after acquiring an additional 18,291,865 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter worth about $74,916,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 170.1% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 9,326,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,156,000 after acquiring an additional 5,873,183 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,189,000 after acquiring an additional 5,798,592 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Streaming revenue and subscriber engagement accelerated as HBO Max expanded internationally, a near?term revenue/engagement positive that supports the growth narrative for WBD’s streaming segment. Streaming Growth Article
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s comments and continued deal progress — including reaffirmed film-slate plans tied to the transaction — suggest the strategic merger remains on track, which could be a long?term value catalyst if the deal closes. Paramount Deal Progress
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD posted its formal Q1 press release and held an earnings call; revenue was roughly flat y/y (~$8.89B), indicating top?line stability even as other line items moved. Press Release
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS missed badly: WBD posted a loss of ($1.17) vs. consensus (~($0.10)), driven largely by a $2.8B termination fee tied to the Paramount/Netflix board swap — producing a roughly $2.9B headline net loss that investors view as a large one?time accounting hit. Earnings Miss Termination Fee Detail
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged restructuring costs and the large charge as drivers of the loss; combined with heavy leverage metrics noted by analysts, this keeps investor focus on cash flow and deleveraging timelines. Restructuring and Net Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: an FCC commissioner has called for a rigorous review of foreign investment tied to the proposed merger, adding potential timeline and approval risk for the deal. FCC Review

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBD has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total value of $961,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,411.72. The trade was a 26.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 41,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.82, for a total transaction of $1,162,430.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 604,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,821,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock valued at $230,674,025. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.20 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.52 and its 200-day moving average is $26.59. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.06 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.80 and a beta of 1.57.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -0.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.