Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 646,498 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,856,706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 646,498 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.12% of Warner Bros. Discovery worth $55,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 27,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 6,196 shares during the period. Investment House LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 37.1% in the third quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 299,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,852,000 after purchasing an additional 81,168 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 8.0% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 264,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 14,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 8,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 0.8%

WBD stock opened at $28.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.02. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.52 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 150.43 and a beta of 1.56.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Roundup

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,108,730. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 4,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total value of $119,208.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 100,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,919,821.04. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 489,326 shares of company stock worth $12,781,456. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WBD shares. Arete Research boosted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $23.50 in a report on Friday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $14.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Singular Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.75.

Warner Bros. Discovery Company Profile

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.