Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Receives $24.75 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.75.

WBD has been the topic of several research reports. Barrington Research lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $14.75 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: WBD says over 93% of shareholders have rejected Paramount’s “inferior scheme,” signaling strong shareholder support for the Netflix transaction and reducing near-term takeover uncertainty. Warner Bros. Discovery says over 93% of shareholders have rejected Paramount’s inferior scheme in favor of Netflix deal
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix executives publicly assert they are on track to win WBD shareholder backing and dismiss Paramount’s bid, which supports the probability of the Netflix all-cash $82.7B offer closing (boosts likelihood of deal premium for WBD holders). Netflix says Paramount bid ‘doesn’t pass sniff test’ as Warner battle intensifies, FT says
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount Skydance has extended its hostile tender deadline to Feb. 20 — the extension buys Paramount time to persuade investors but hasn’t changed WBD’s board backing for Netflix; it prolongs deal uncertainty rather than resolving it. Paramount extends deadline on hostile Warner Bros bid to February 20
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory review — especially in Europe — is highlighted as a pivotal hurdle; even with shareholder backing, clearance remains uncertain and could materially affect timing and deal structure. Paramount is betting European regulators won’t approve WBD-Netflix. Here’s how it could play out
• Negative Sentiment: Paramount filed a lawsuit challenging the WBD-Netflix deal, which adds legal risk and could delay closing or increase deal costs if litigation succeeds or forces concessions. Paramount Files Lawsuit Against Warner Bros. Discovery Over Netflix Deal
• Negative Sentiment: Market weakness at Netflix (big recent share decline after its Q4 report) raises questions about Netflix’s financial and market strength to complete an $82.7B all-cash purchase, which could weigh on perceptions of deal certainty and WBD’s near-term premium. Netflix Stock Drops 35%+ After Q4 as WBD Deal Risk Rises
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political scrutiny is intensifying — Netflix execs are slated to testify to U.S. lawmakers about the acquisition, increasing the chance of political/antitrust complications that could slow or block the transaction. Netflix’s Sarandos to testify in Senate hearing on Warner deal, Bloomberg News reports

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $28.58 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a PE ratio of 150.43 and a beta of 1.56. Warner Bros. Discovery has a one year low of $7.52 and a one year high of $30.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.96.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%.The company’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $7,168,323.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 918,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,108,730. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 489,326 shares of company stock valued at $12,781,456. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 68,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 51,920 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 50.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 63,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 21,228 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 65,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,779 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 116,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 55,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 33,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 6,193 shares in the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.