Investors Purchase Large Volume of Warner Bros. Discovery Put Options (NASDAQ:WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 148,122 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 106% compared to the typical volume of 71,906 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,123,807,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in 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 valued at $685,413,000 after buying an additional 18,291,865 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 2nd quarter valued at $74,916,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 15,523,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,189,000 after acquiring an additional 5,798,592 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery in the 3rd quarter worth $100,135,000. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WBD traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $26.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,475,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,049,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $65.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.46 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.59. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 52 week low of $10.76 and a 52 week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($1.07). Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 4.67% and a negative return on equity of 4.77%. The business had revenue of $8.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WBD. Huber Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Monday, March 9th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.04.

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.