Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Earns “Hold” Rating from Benchmark

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by Benchmark in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barrington Research downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.39.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ WBD opened at $28.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $69.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.14 and a beta of 1.64. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $7.52 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.37 and a 200-day moving average of $22.74.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.99%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total value of $138,100.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total transaction of $7,168,323.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 918,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,108,730. The trade was a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 257,116 shares of company stock valued at $7,546,331. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,161,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028,346 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,195 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,123,807,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% during the third quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,413,000 after buying an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s acquisition agreement announced — a $31-per-share cash deal values WBD at roughly $110 billion and is now a formal merger agreement, creating a clear path to a cash exit for shareholders. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix exits the bidding — Netflix declined to raise its offer after Paramount’s $31 bid was declared superior, reducing takeover uncertainty and making a Paramount close more likely. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: EU approval expected to be manageable — sources tell Reuters the deal is likely to clear EU antitrust scrutiny with only minor divestments if required, lowering one regulatory hurdle. Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — several firms updated ratings/targets (TD Cowen raised its PT to $26 but kept a hold; Deutsche Bank moved to hold with a $31 PT), reflecting divided views on deal certainty and standalone fundamentals. MarketScreener (TD Cowen) MarketScreener (Deutsche Bank)
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results disappointed — WBD posted a loss per share and revenue declined ~6% year/year, missing EPS expectations and underscoring legacy TV/studio weakness despite streaming growth. That weak print amplifies uncertainty around valuation and growth prospects. WBD press release / earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Employee and synergy risk — CNBC reports WBD staff fear layoffs if Paramount pursues roughly $6B of cost synergies; job cuts and integration execution could create operational disruption and headline risk. CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Political/regulatory friction remains — California and other political actors could still slow the deal; state-level opposition and broader antitrust scrutiny remain possible roadblocks. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Options and sentiment signal volatility — today saw an unusually large spike in put option volume, indicating elevated hedging/speculative bearish positioning even as a cash deal price anchors the stock.

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.