Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) Director Fazal Merchant Sells 35,000 Shares of Stock

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Director Fazal Merchant sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.48, for a total value of $961,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 95,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,411.72. This represents a 26.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Up 1.4%

WBD opened at $27.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.87 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.13 and its 200-day moving average is $24.05. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.52 and a 52-week high of $30.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share 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 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.98%. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.20) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $20.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Huber Research downgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Argus cut their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.30.

Trending Headlines about Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: WBD-dominated Oscars night — Warner Bros. films “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” won multiple Academy Awards (reporting up to 10–11 trophies), driving a PR boost for the studio’s premium content slate and signaling franchise/rights value ahead of strategic talks. Warner Bros. Cleans Up at the Oscars
• Positive Sentiment: CEO David Zaslav sent a celebratory company-wide email highlighting the “historic” night and original storytelling wins — a morale/PR lift that can support investor expectations for content monetization and negotiating leverage in M&A discussions. Zaslav Celebrates Oscars
• Neutral Sentiment: Pending Paramount Skydance takeover remains front-and-center — coverage frames the Oscars success as timely but the $110B deal (and related bidding dynamics) is the primary structural story that will ultimately determine valuation. Investors should watch M&A updates more closely than awards alone. Reuters: Oscar triumph bittersweet as Paramount deal looms
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary downplays the long-term market impact of awards (Oscars aren’t guaranteed to move box office/streaming revenue materially); treat the PR bump as potentially short-lived unless tied to monetization plans. Fool: Oscars not a big deal
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sale — Director Paul A. Gould sold 600,000 shares at ~$27.35 (≈$16.41M) and trimmed his stake by ~71%, disclosed in an SEC Form 4 filing. Big director sells can create near-term selling pressure or signal personal liquidity needs rather than confidence. Paul Gould SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Another insider sale — Director Fazal F. Merchant sold 35,000 shares at ~$27.48 (~$962k), reducing his holding by ~27%; adds to the raw selling flow that may offset some positive sentiment. Fazal Merchant SEC filing

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,161,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,634,000 after buying an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,824,000 after buying an additional 1,233,195 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,123,807,000. Finally, Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. now owns 35,095,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,413,000 after acquiring an additional 18,291,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

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.