CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Takes Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,350,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,384,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. owned about 0.05% of Warner Bros. Discovery at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1,242.2% in the third quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WBD shares. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 target price on Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim cut Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Argus cut their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.30.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oscars windfall strengthens WBD’s premium content credentials — multiple Warner Bros. films won major Academy Awards, which boosts the studio’s reputation, franchise value and potential monetization leverage ahead of strategic talks. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial tie-up: GoPro renewed as the official wearable camera supplier for WBD’s WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series, a small but visible sports/branding win that supports engagement in the company’s sports assets. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount Skydance merger remains the dominant valuation driver — the $110B deal’s progress and regulatory/closing risk will ultimately determine the stock’s longer-term direction, so awards and partnerships are secondary for investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and market context: coverage is mixed (average “Hold”), and the stock has rallied notably in recent months — investors should weigh M&A outcomes against current price vs. analyst targets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Governance and insider selling raise concern — filings show CEO David Zaslav stands to receive up to ~$887M tied to the Paramount deal, and directors have sold stock (e.g., Fazal Merchant’s 35,000-share sale and a large disclosed director sale), which can create selling pressure and governance scrutiny. Read More. Read More. Read More.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD opened at $27.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.31 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.09 and its 200-day moving average is $24.18. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.52 and a 1 year high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Zaslav sold 4,004,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $113,157,250.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 7,200,627 shares in the company, valued at $203,489,719.02. The trade was a 35.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.35, for a total transaction of $16,410,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 244,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,683,163.95. This represents a 71.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,206,827 shares of company stock worth $230,674,025. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s 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.