Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Moffett Nathanson

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Moffett Nathanson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WBD. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price target on Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $29.50 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Arete Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.25 price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.50 to $27.75 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.30.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.75 on Friday. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 1-year low of $7.52 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.76 billion, a PE ratio of 95.69 and a beta of 1.60.

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). Warner Bros. Discovery had a return on equity of 1.98% and a net margin of 1.95%.The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.20) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 374,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $10,499,760.15. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 663,380 shares in the company, valued at $18,607,809. The trade was a 36.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gerhard Zeiler sold 600,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.02, for a total value of $16,812,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 672,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,847,624.98. This trade represents a 47.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,777,159 shares of company stock valued at $219,427,326. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 323,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,333,000 after purchasing an additional 71,973 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2,784.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 678,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,555,000 after buying an additional 654,992 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 4,241,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,283,000 after buying an additional 18,804 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $355,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter worth $139,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount Skydance’s winning bid and renewed investor support (including reported Tencent funding) increases deal certainty, which tends to lift takeover targets like WBD because it narrows the path to a premium exit for shareholders. Tencent Is Said to Be Back On Paramount-Warner Bros Deal With Fresh Funding
• Positive Sentiment: Market chatter reports a structure that could include a passive Tencent investment to support the Paramount‑WBD deal, which improves financing visibility and regulatory odds for the $110B transaction. Market Chatter: Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance, Discuss Passive Tencent Investment for Acquisition Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo resumed/initiated coverage on WBD with an Equal Weight rating and a $31 price target, implying modest upside from current levels but not a strong buy signal; this provides a near‑term benchmark for investors. Wells Fargo resumes coverage / Benzinga summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that former President Trump bought Netflix and WBD bonds amid the bidding war add media and political noise but are unlikely to change fundamentals; they mainly attract headlines around the deal dynamics. Trump bought Netflix and Warner Bros bonds at height of bidding war with Paramount
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales disclosed in recent filings (including large blocks by executives) raise governance and signaling concerns; heavy insider selling often weighs on sentiment for stocks under takeover scrutiny. Insider Selling: Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Insider Sells
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst moves and commentary are mixed-to-cautious — MoffettNathanson cut to Hold and a veteran exec warned that a Paramount takeover could lead to reduced content output, which could hurt long‑term streaming economics and growth expectations. Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Cut to Hold at Moffett Nathanson Veteran media exec: Paramount’s acquisition … will likely result in reduced output

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.