Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Price Target Raised to $31.00 at Moffett Nathanson

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) had its price objective hoisted by Moffett Nathanson from $26.00 to $31.00 in a research note released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Moffett Nathanson currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Seaport Research Partners increased their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Barrington Research cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.08.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WBD opened at $27.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.52. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 52 week low of $7.52 and a 52 week high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $68.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.95 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 110,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,040,520.08. This 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 firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at $27,108,730. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 267,116 shares of company stock valued at $7,781,731 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $443,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 29,882.6% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 62,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,000 after purchasing an additional 61,857 shares in the last quarter. Country Club Bank increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 54.3% during the second quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 502,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,683,000 after purchasing an additional 176,994 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,463,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,065,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,808,000 after purchasing an additional 37,986 shares during the period. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: An Argus analyst reiterated a positive outlook on WBD, saying the stock is expected to rise—this provides a near-term bullish analyst catalyst that can support the share price. Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Argus Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Warner Bros. Discovery struck a promotional/distribution partnership with X around the Winter Olympics—such platform deals can broaden reach and ad inventory, supporting ad revenue and streaming promotional efforts. Warner Bros. Discovery Partners With X On Winter Olympics
• Positive Sentiment: Market speculation and trading flow show bets around a possible Warner Bros.–Netflix deal; heightened positioning can amplify moves if deal optimism increases. (High short interest in WBD also raises volatility.) Wall Street traders show their hands with bets on Warner Bros. Discovery-Netflix deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Barry Diller expressed interest in buying CNN from WBD, but WBD publicly said CNN is not for sale and the idea did not advance to the board—this creates occasional M&A chatter but no concrete asset-sale catalyst. Barry Diller Told Warner Discovery He’s Interested in Buying CNN
• Neutral Sentiment: Profiles and commentary on potential leadership/strategy moves (e.g., coverage of David Ellison’s plans) add background on governance and strategic options but contain limited immediate financial detail. What Is David Ellison’s Warner Bros. Endgame?
• Negative Sentiment: Filmmakers and small theaters have urged state attorneys general to block the reported Netflix–Warner Bros. deal—this raises regulatory/legal risk that could scuttle or materially delay any transaction and weigh on the stock. State AGs urged by filmmakers, small theaters to block Netflix-Warner Bros. deal: report
• Negative Sentiment: Industry reporting highlights weakening box-office performance for major franchise films—this is a headwind for WBD’s theatrical revenue and franchise monetization, increasing near-term revenue uncertainty. Hollywood has an IP problem: Box office sales are banking on franchise hits that keep falling flat

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.