Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Forecast and Analyst Ratings

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) has recently seen an adjustment in its stock target price by analysts at Macquarie, who have raised it from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report released on Friday. They have assigned a "neutral" rating to the stock, indicating that they believe the shares could experience a slight downturn of 1.96% from their current price.

Recent Analyst Changes

This increase in target price comes in the context of several other analysts also reassessing their views on Warner Bros. Discovery. For instance, on August 8th, TD Cowen lowered their target price from $15.00 to $14.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating. Similarly, JPMorgan Chase reduced their target from $10.00 to $8.00, opting also for a "neutral" rating. On August 13th, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded the stock from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" and set a new target price of $8.00. Meanwhile, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating with a target of $12.00 and Deutsche Bank also lowered its target from $16.00 to $15.00 while maintaining their "buy" rating. Overall, there is one analyst with a sell rating, eleven who have given it a hold rating, and a total of eight issuing a buy rating. MarketBeat data reveals that the consensus rating for Warner Bros. Discovery stands at "Hold" with an average target price of $10.55.

Current Stock Performance

Recently, during midday trading on Friday, shares of Warner Bros. Discovery were down by $0.19, hitting a price of $9.18. The trading volume was significantly higher than average, reaching 52,502,078 shares traded compared to an average of 29,176,777. Currently, the company's quick ratio and current ratio both stand at 0.76, and the debt-to-equity ratio is 1.06. Over the past year, the stock has ranged from a low of $6.64 to a high of $12.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.87, while the 200-day average is $7.83. Warner Bros. Discovery has a market capitalization of approximately $22.51 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.91, with a beta of 1.48.

Quarterly Earnings Report

On November 7th, Warner Bros. Discovery released its latest quarterly earnings report. The company announced an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.05, which exceeded expectations as analysts had forecasted a loss of ($0.07). However, the company's net margin remains negative at 29.47%, and the return on equity is also negative at 27.28%. Revenue for the quarter was reported at $9.62 billion, slightly below the anticipated $9.79 billion, and this marks a 3.6% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Warner Bros. Discovery will post an EPS of -4.51 for the current year.

Institutional Ownership Dynamics

In terms of institutional activity, multiple hedge funds and institutional investors have been actively trading shares of Warner Bros. Discovery. Crewe Advisors LLC made a new acquisition in the first quarter, while Family Firm Inc. invested in the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake significantly by 45.9% during the same quarter. Additionally, Transcendent Capital Group boosted its stake by a notable 665.4%, and LRI Investments LLC also purchased shares in the first quarter. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 59.95% of the company's stock.

Company Overview

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. is a global media and entertainment company that operates through three primary segments: Studios, Network, and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC). The Studios segment specializes in producing and releasing films for theatrical showing, as well as licensing television productions to various networks and direct-to-consumer platforms. The company also engages in the distribution of its films and shows to different networks, alongside offering streaming and home entertainment services.

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