Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) by 94.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,187,506 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery were worth $2,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 283,180,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,161,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966,278 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 66,597,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,634,000 after buying an additional 1,028,346 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the fourth quarter valued at $1,123,807,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 108.9% during the third 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 period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 27,462,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254,813 shares in 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 reportedly offered concessions to the European Commission, including plans to exit UIP, in an effort to secure EU approval for the Warner merger. That could improve the odds the transaction eventually clears antitrust review. Paramount Skydance Offers Concessions to Facilitate EU Approval of $81 Billion Warner Bros Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports say Paramount is actively submitting concessions to address European competition concerns, suggesting management is still pushing hard to keep the deal alive. Paramount Submits Concessions To Gain EU Approval For Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Paramount Skydance said it has gained key global merger approvals, which is constructive for the transaction overall, but the remaining UK and EU hurdles still make the path to closing uncertain. Paramount Skydance Gains Key Global Merger Approvals
• Negative Sentiment: The UK government said it is “minded to intervene” in the proposed Paramount-Warner merger, citing media plurality and news-sector concentration concerns, raising the risk of a prolonged review. UK government says it’s likely to challenge $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports from UK media outlets echo that regulators may intervene, reinforcing fears that the deal could face major political and antitrust obstacles. UK ‘minded’ to intervene in Paramount’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $26.81 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.94 and a 200 day moving average of $27.66. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.76 and a 1 year high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.30 and a beta of 1.54.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.17) 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBD has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Zacks Research raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.04.

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.