Brokerages Set Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) PT at $27.04

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have given a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.0417.

WBD has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, May 7th.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 1.5%

WBD stock opened at $26.87 on Wednesday. Warner Bros. Discovery has a twelve month low of $10.76 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The stock has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.39 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.49.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 4.77%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. Research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: A federal judge will rule by July 22 on California’s request to temporarily freeze Paramount’s $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, increasing the risk of a near-term delay to the deal. Judge delays ruling on California’s bid to freeze Paramount’s $111B takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: California and 11 other Democratic state attorneys general are pushing an antitrust case to pause the merger, and media reports suggest Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount may have to delay closing while the legal fight plays out. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Faces State Lawsuit Over $110 Billion Merger Pause
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount has publicly argued the states’ antitrust case is unusually weak, but that defense does not remove the immediate legal uncertainty around the transaction. Paramount Calls the States’ Antitrust Case Against Warner Bros. Merger ‘One of the Weakest’ in Modern History
• Neutral Sentiment: Several shareholder lawsuits and related responses have added more headlines, but these appear secondary to the main issue: whether regulators or the court will block or delay the deal. Paramount and Warner Bros expect a delay in closing the deal

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth $1,123,807,000. Duquesne Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,916,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,189,000 after buying an additional 5,798,592 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the third quarter valued at about $100,135,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 509.5% in the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 5,981,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,396,000 after buying an additional 5,000,437 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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.