Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $29.81 and last traded at $29.53, with a volume of 103490330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.26.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Singular Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.35.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $21.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.17 billion, a PE ratio of 155.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 1.34%. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. Research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 4,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total transaction of $119,208.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 100,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,821.04. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bruce Campbell sold 150,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 252,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,544,352. The trade was a 37.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 927,125 shares of company stock valued at $18,663,597. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Warner Bros. Discovery

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in 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. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 279.1% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 91,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 67,580 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,681,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 1st quarter worth approximately $96,971,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.