Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Benchmark in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $18.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 49.63% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.41.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WBD opened at $12.03 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.98. The stock has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 1.54. Warner Bros. Discovery has a fifty-two week low of $6.64 and a fifty-two week high of $12.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.06). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 28.16% and a negative return on equity of 30.56%. The company had revenue of $8.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.40) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 256,820,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,755,679,000 after acquiring an additional 4,169,240 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 57,441,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $605,633,000 after buying an additional 1,991,441 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 43,341,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,052,000 after purchasing an additional 873,869 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter worth $362,210,000. Finally, Sessa Capital IM L.P. increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.0% in the first quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 29,555,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,849 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

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.