Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Receives Hold Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their hold rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Barrington Research downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Guggenheim cut shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 14th. Arete Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.25 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $29.50 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.39.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBD traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,723,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,171,924. Warner Bros. Discovery has a one year low of $7.52 and a one year high of $30.00. The company has a market cap of $69.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.14 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.99% and a net margin of 1.95%.The business had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.20) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $7,168,323.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 918,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,108,730. This trade represents a 20.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 4,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total transaction of $119,208.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 100,962 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,821.04. This trade represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 257,116 shares of company stock valued at $7,546,331. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,123,807,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,788,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,066,000 after acquiring an additional 22,308,046 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,492,112,000 after acquiring an additional 18,736,600 shares during the last quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc CT acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter worth $97,951,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s acquisition agreement announced — a $31-per-share cash deal values WBD at roughly $110 billion and is now a formal merger agreement, creating a clear path to a cash exit for shareholders. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix exits the bidding — Netflix declined to raise its offer after Paramount’s $31 bid was declared superior, reducing takeover uncertainty and making a Paramount close more likely. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: EU approval expected to be manageable — sources tell Reuters the deal is likely to clear EU antitrust scrutiny with only minor divestments if required, lowering one regulatory hurdle. Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — several firms updated ratings/targets (TD Cowen raised its PT to $26 but kept a hold; Deutsche Bank moved to hold with a $31 PT), reflecting divided views on deal certainty and standalone fundamentals. MarketScreener (TD Cowen) MarketScreener (Deutsche Bank)
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results disappointed — WBD posted a loss per share and revenue declined ~6% year/year, missing EPS expectations and underscoring legacy TV/studio weakness despite streaming growth. That weak print amplifies uncertainty around valuation and growth prospects. WBD press release / earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Employee and synergy risk — CNBC reports WBD staff fear layoffs if Paramount pursues roughly $6B of cost synergies; job cuts and integration execution could create operational disruption and headline risk. CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Political/regulatory friction remains — California and other political actors could still slow the deal; state-level opposition and broader antitrust scrutiny remain possible roadblocks. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Options and sentiment signal volatility — today saw an unusually large spike in put option volume, indicating elevated hedging/speculative bearish positioning even as a cash deal price anchors the stock.

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.