Board of the Pension Protection Fund Acquires New Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 53,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 66.5% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 101,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 134,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 8,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holistic Financial Partners increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.2% during the second quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 18,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WBD shares. Cowen lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays set a $20.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $23.50 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.22.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $7,168,323.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,108,730. The trade was a 20.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total transaction of $138,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 110,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,040,520.08. This represents a 4.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 489,326 shares of company stock worth $12,781,456 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: WBD’s board formally rejected Paramount Skydance’s hostile approach and urged shareholders to reject that offer in favor of the Netflix proposal, reinforcing management’s preferred path and lowering the chance of an unsolicited break-up at current terms. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis shows a Netflix–Warner Bros. combination would be a strategic powerhouse (projected to eclipse Disney’s TV demand share), which supports the argument that the Netflix bid could create significant long‑term value for WBD shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that activist/hedge fund Standard General has been approached about buying or investing in WBD’s cable networks (including CNN) raise the prospect of asset sales or minority investments that could unlock value outside a full sale. That potential monetization pathway is viewed favorably by investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Harris Associates, a top-five WBD shareholder, said it would be “very open” to a revised Paramount offer if it is superior and fixes deal-term issues — this keeps the door open for a higher competing bid but also prolongs deal uncertainty. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market write-ups this week highlight the sudden entry of Paramount into the bidding contest and the sector‑wide reaction; broader market sentiment and rotation also influence WBD’s trading alongside deal news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Paramount’s reported all‑cash $108 billion/$30‑per‑share approach escalates the takeover fight and could force protracted negotiations or a bidding war, increasing execution risk and near‑term volatility for the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: WBD has pressed for stronger assurances from the Ellison family trust (a personal guarantee) around Paramount’s financing, signaling the board’s doubts about deal certainty — that pushback could complicate or delay any deal and sustain share‑price swings. Read More.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.81. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.52 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The company has a market capitalization of $68.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.17 and a beta of 1.60.

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

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.