Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 131.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,829,848 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,851,800 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $369,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter worth approximately $19,450,000. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WBD shares. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.69.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD opened at $28.25 on Monday. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.77 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.26. 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 firm has a market cap of $70.93 billion, a PE ratio of -22.24 and a beta of 1.57.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.20. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 8.91% and a negative net margin of 8.77%.The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery reached a deal with Turkey’s Do?u? Media Group to bring Turkish scripted programming to HBO Max. The agreement could improve the service’s international content offering and subscriber appeal. WBD partners with Do?u? to bring Turkish drama to HBO Max
• Positive Sentiment: WBD launched a shoppable streaming experience in Poland, creating a potential new advertising and commerce revenue channel. The financial impact is likely limited initially but supports its broader streaming monetization strategy. WBD launches shoppable streaming experience in Poland
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD will discontinue the standalone discovery+ app in India, apparently consolidating content within a broader HBO Max strategy. The move could reduce operating complexity, although it may risk disrupting some existing customers. WBD to discontinue standalone discovery+ app in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on WBD, indicating limited conviction that the stock’s recent gains will continue without clearer improvement in profitability and its streaming outlook. WBD given consensus Hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: A director sold 200,000 WBD shares for approximately $5.67 million, reducing his direct holdings by 20.2%. While the sale may be personal or portfolio-related, the sizable insider transaction can weigh on sentiment. SEC insider-trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: A reported state antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal, raising uncertainty over regulatory approval, timing and the potential value of the transaction. State antitrust lawsuit threatens Paramount’s Warner Bros. deal
• Negative Sentiment: Higher-rate expectations are pressuring higher-valuation media and streaming stocks. Although WBD has held relatively steady versus peers, the sector-wide repricing is limiting near-term upside. Rate repricing pressures streaming stocks

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 71,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total transaction of $1,985,207.25. Following the sale, the director owned 33,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,609.25. The trade was a 68.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Zaslav sold 194,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total transaction of $5,463,871.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,807,934 shares in the company, valued at $190,758,310.68. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,950,749 shares of company stock worth $53,999,633 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery 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.