DNB Asset Management AS Purchases 840,493 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 192.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,277,055 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 840,493 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $24,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concord Wealth Partners grew 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 152.1% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust lifted its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 1,242.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crews Bank & Trust now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 183.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Key Warner Bros. Discovery News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s acquisition agreement announced — a $31-per-share cash deal values WBD at roughly $110 billion and is now a formal merger agreement, creating a clear path to a cash exit for shareholders. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Netflix exits the bidding — Netflix declined to raise its offer after Paramount’s $31 bid was declared superior, reducing takeover uncertainty and making a Paramount close more likely. Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: EU approval expected to be manageable — sources tell Reuters the deal is likely to clear EU antitrust scrutiny with only minor divestments if required, lowering one regulatory hurdle. Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — several firms updated ratings/targets (TD Cowen raised its PT to $26 but kept a hold; Deutsche Bank moved to hold with a $31 PT), reflecting divided views on deal certainty and standalone fundamentals. MarketScreener (TD Cowen) MarketScreener (Deutsche Bank)
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results disappointed — WBD posted a loss per share and revenue declined ~6% year/year, missing EPS expectations and underscoring legacy TV/studio weakness despite streaming growth. That weak print amplifies uncertainty around valuation and growth prospects. WBD press release / earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Employee and synergy risk — CNBC reports WBD staff fear layoffs if Paramount pursues roughly $6B of cost synergies; job cuts and integration execution could create operational disruption and headline risk. CNBC
• Negative Sentiment: Political/regulatory friction remains — California and other political actors could still slow the deal; state-level opposition and broader antitrust scrutiny remain possible roadblocks. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Options and sentiment signal volatility — today saw an unusually large spike in put option volume, indicating elevated hedging/speculative bearish positioning even as a cash deal price anchors the stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Barrington Research cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $31.00 price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Arete Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.25 target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.39.

Insider Activity

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $7,168,323.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total value of $138,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 110,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,040,520.08. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 257,116 shares of company stock worth $7,546,331 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $28.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.52 and a 52-week high of $30.00. The stock has a market cap of $69.80 billion, a PE ratio of 97.14 and a beta of 1.64.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.19). Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.99%. The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.20) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

Warner Bros. Discovery 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.