Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 482,877 Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 873,805 shares of the company’s stock after selling 482,877 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $17,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 281,214,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,492,112,000 after acquiring an additional 18,736,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,091,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,798,000 after purchasing an additional 551,548 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,574,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter worth approximately $306,848,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4,639.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,788,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,066,000 after purchasing an additional 22,308,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other news, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.50, for a total value of $7,168,323.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at $27,108,730. This represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total transaction of $138,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 110,084 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 257,116 shares of company stock worth $7,546,331. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

WBD stock opened at $28.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.74. The company has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.14 and a beta of 1.64. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.52 and a 52-week high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $9.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.95% and a return on equity of 1.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.20) EPS. Research 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 topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday. Guggenheim lowered shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Warner Bros. Discovery presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.39.

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.