Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Short Interest Up 17.4% in May

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 106,610,000 shares, an increase of 17.4% from the April 30th total of 90,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 43,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Colonial Trust Advisors raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 71.8% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 2,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 313.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,940 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $9.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of -2.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.94. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $6.64 and a 12 month high of $12.70.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.06). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 27.56% and a negative net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $8.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.40) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WBD. Raymond James cut their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.17.

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.