Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Sell Rating Reiterated at Argus

Argus reaffirmed their sell rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WBD. Barclays started coverage on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Research Partners lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.61.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $30.95 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $77.71 billion, a PE ratio of -24.37 and a beta of 1.53. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $17.08 and a 12 month high of $30.97.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.20. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 8.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, Director Kenneth Lowe sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.23, for a total value of $5,646,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 590,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,658,748.84. This represents a 25.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David Zaslav sold 773,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $21,656,575.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,807,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $190,690,231.34. This represents a 10.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 2,782,149 shares of company stock worth $77,455,972 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 128,364,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,422,202,000 after buying an additional 934,964 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 18,965,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604,732 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,616,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,301,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,900 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 16,324,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 131.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 13,829,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,851,800 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory uncertainty has largely been removed. A federal judge approved a settlement with 12 state attorneys general, clearing the final legal obstacle to Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The companies expect the transaction to close on October 6, reducing the risk of a prolonged court delay. US judge allows Paramount to close Warner Bros acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: The proposed leadership structure may support integration. Paramount CEO David Ellison named Mattel’s former CEO Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO of the combined company, with Kreiz expected to oversee day-to-day operations and strategic integration. Ellison has also asked CNN chief Mark Thompson to remain, potentially preserving continuity at CNN. David Ellison names Ynon Kreiz co-CEO
• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery expanded a UK content distribution agreement with ITV covering TLC and Quest programming. The deal could improve content monetization and distribution, although it is a smaller catalyst than the merger. Warner Bros. Discovery strikes content deal with ITV
• Neutral Sentiment: Attention now shifts from approval to execution. Reports describe the deal as a roughly $110 billion transaction, while other coverage cites an $81 billion acquisition value, reflecting differing measures of transaction value. Investors will focus on the closing mechanics, integration plans and the combined company’s post-merger strategy. Breakdown of Paramount’s Warner Bros. Discovery deal
• Negative Sentiment: The transaction relies on substantial new borrowing. Paramount priced $41.4 billion of senior secured notes and additional term loans, carrying interest rates from 6.30% to 8.90%. Higher interest expense and leverage could constrain cash flow and limit the financial benefits of the merger. Paramount financing announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Argus reaffirmed a Sell rating on WBD, underscoring continuing concerns about the company’s declining revenue, losses and debt burden despite the merger’s legal progress. Argus reaffirms Sell rating

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc is a global media and entertainment company that creates, distributes and licenses television, film and digital content. Its portfolio includes Warner Bros. film and television studios, HBO and Max, CNN, Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, TNT Sports and other well-known entertainment, news, lifestyle and sports brands.

The company serves audiences through streaming platforms, cable and broadcast networks, theatrical releases, consumer products and content licensing.