Insider Selling: Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) CEO Sells 773,173 Shares of Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) CEO David Zaslav sold 773,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total transaction of $21,656,575.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,807,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $190,690,231.34. The trade was a 10.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

David Zaslav also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 14th, David Zaslav sold 194,999 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $5,463,871.98.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBD traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.99. 12,494,071 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,710,194. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $26.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.17. The firm has a market cap of $70.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.04 and a beta of 1.55. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a one year low of $11.25 and a one year high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.25 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 8.91% and a negative net margin of 8.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WBD. UBS Group lifted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Huber Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.69.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Merger expectations are supporting WBD. Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance shares are rallying as recent market activity suggests the Hollywood megamerger’s closing odds may be improving. Paramount’s reported willingness to consider selling CNN to address antitrust concerns could help resolve a key obstacle. Paramount and Warner Bros. Stocks Are Rallying
• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros.’ “The End of Oak Street” is targeting as much as $48 million globally in its debut. A strong theatrical opening could provide a modest near-term boost to studio and film-distribution sentiment, although the impact on WBD’s overall financial results is likely limited. The End of Oak Street targets global debut
• Neutral Sentiment: The merger remains tied up in antitrust litigation. The parties have outlined discovery and other pretrial deadlines, with the legal process potentially extending toward a March 2027 trial. The long timeline keeps merger-related volatility elevated and delays certainty for WBD shareholders. Paramount-WBD antitrust trial schedule
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry groups including the DGA and IATSE are urging a faster resolution to the Paramount-WBD legal standoff, while Teamsters members are protesting Paramount over merger-related commitments. The developments increase political and labor pressure but do not yet establish the transaction’s outcome. Teamsters protest Paramount over merger
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD announced incubator productions for Food Network and discovery+, supporting its content pipeline but offering limited immediate financial impact. WBD Food Network and discovery+ productions
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales may weigh on investor confidence. Director Kenneth Lowe sold 120,000 shares for approximately $3.24 million, and Gerhard Zeiler sold 591,038 shares worth about $15.99 million. The filings do not explain the motivations, but the sizable reductions can be viewed as a negative sentiment signal. Gerhard Zeiler WBD share sale

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,900 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,008,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,069,000 after buying an additional 571,612 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $12,372,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

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.