Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Trading 6.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) shares rose 6.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $9.89 and last traded at $9.85. Approximately 31,720,379 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 29,266,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBD has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $8.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.55.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.86.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.12. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 27.56% and a negative net margin of 28.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.17) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WBD. Sessa Capital IM L.P. raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 28,410,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,386,000 after purchasing an additional 5,625,545 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.1% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 20,855,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,165,000 after purchasing an additional 235,192 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,685,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,405,000 after buying an additional 687,612 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,192,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,595,000 after purchasing an additional 719,869 shares during the period. Finally, Yacktman Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP now owns 8,152,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,654,000 after acquiring an additional 100,565 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

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.