Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 77,486,708 shares, a drop of 21.7% from the December 31st total of 98,974,919 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 26,076,592 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 26,076,592 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total value of $138,100.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 110,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,040,520.08. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 267,116 shares of company stock worth $7,781,731. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 15,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 6,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 49.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock opened at $27.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.74. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12-month low of $7.52 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $68.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 144.85 and a beta of 1.64.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays set a $20.00 target price on Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $29.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.08.

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.