Raymond James Financial Reiterates Underperform Rating for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on WBD. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Arete Research lifted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $13.00 to $14.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lifted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.11.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Down 0.3%

Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $28.80 on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery has a fifty-two week low of $7.52 and a fifty-two 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.53. The stock has a market cap of $71.37 billion, a PE ratio of 151.59 and a beta of 1.64.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.20) EPS. Research analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,108,730. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 4,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.92, for a total transaction of $119,208.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 100,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,919,821.04. This represents a 3.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 257,116 shares of company stock valued at $7,546,331 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,773,000. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Stone Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $1,236,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 25,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 9,886 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warner’s board said Paramount Skydance’s updated $31-per-share, all-cash proposal could be a “Company Superior Proposal”—Paramount also added financing protections/extra equity commitments that reduce execution risk, which supports a higher guaranteed takeover value for WBD holders. PARAMOUNT COMMENTS ON WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY BOARD’S DETERMINATION
• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s $31 bid and the board’s shift toward entertaining a superior proposal increase the near-term takeover premium on WBD shares (the $31 headline price is above recent trading levels), giving a clearer path to a cash exit for shareholders if that deal closes. After PSKY’s $31 Bid, Could Netflix Exit the WBD Bidding War?
• Neutral Sentiment: WBD reported Q4 results that missed EPS expectations (loss of $0.10 vs. a small consensus gain) and showed ~6% revenue decline year-over-year; streaming subscriber gains were offset by weakness in linear TV and studios—this weak operating backdrop complicates valuation and could affect regulatory/financing conversations. Warner Bros posts 6% fall in quarterly revenue, deal talks in focus
• Negative Sentiment: Netflix publicly declined to raise its offer and has signaled it will not match Paramount’s terms, effectively stepping aside—that removes a bidder that many investors thought could push the price higher, capping upside for WBD if Paramount closes at $31. Netflix, Paramount shares jump as months-long fight for Warner Bros ends
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political scrutiny remains a wildcard—state and federal reviews of large media deals could delay or block any transaction (Netflix’s earlier regulatory concerns and third‑party scrutiny increase execution risk for a prospective buyer). 11 US states urge DOJ to thoroughly probe Netflix-Warner Bros deal

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.