Board of the Pension Protection Fund Invests $1.04 Million in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. $WBD

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 53,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,039,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 262,477,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,007,993,000 after acquiring an additional 5,657,524 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 0.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,091,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,798,000 after purchasing an additional 551,548 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 2.8% in 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 last quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. increased its holdings in Warner Bros. Discovery by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Sessa Capital IM L.P. now owns 29,555,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,849 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $306,848,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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 report on Thursday, October 30th. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Seaport Global Securities lifted their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $15.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.22.

Key Stores Impacting Warner Bros. Discovery

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

• Positive Sentiment: WBD’s board formally rejected Paramount Skydance’s hostile approach and urged shareholders to reject that offer in favor of the Netflix proposal, reinforcing management’s preferred path and lowering the chance of an unsolicited break-up at current terms. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis shows a Netflix–Warner Bros. combination would be a strategic powerhouse (projected to eclipse Disney’s TV demand share), which supports the argument that the Netflix bid could create significant long‑term value for WBD shareholders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that activist/hedge fund Standard General has been approached about buying or investing in WBD’s cable networks (including CNN) raise the prospect of asset sales or minority investments that could unlock value outside a full sale. That potential monetization pathway is viewed favorably by investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Harris Associates, a top-five WBD shareholder, said it would be “very open” to a revised Paramount offer if it is superior and fixes deal-term issues — this keeps the door open for a higher competing bid but also prolongs deal uncertainty. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market write-ups this week highlight the sudden entry of Paramount into the bidding contest and the sector‑wide reaction; broader market sentiment and rotation also influence WBD’s trading alongside deal news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Paramount’s reported all‑cash $108 billion/$30‑per‑share approach escalates the takeover fight and could force protracted negotiations or a bidding war, increasing execution risk and near‑term volatility for the stock. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: WBD has pressed for stronger assurances from the Ellison family trust (a personal guarantee) around Paramount’s financing, signaling the board’s doubts about deal certainty — that pushback could complicate or delay any deal and sustain share‑price swings. Read More.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

In other Warner Bros. Discovery news, CAO Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares of Warner Bros. Discovery stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.62, for a total transaction of $138,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 110,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,040,520.08. The trade was a 4.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 918,940 shares in the company, valued at $27,108,730. This trade represents a 20.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 489,326 shares of company stock valued at $12,781,456 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Performance

Shares of WBD stock opened at $27.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.81. The stock has a market cap of $68.81 billion, a PE ratio of 146.17 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.52 and a 12 month high of $30.00.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.02). Warner Bros. Discovery had a net margin of 1.28% and a return on equity of 1.34%. The business had revenue of $9.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. will post -4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.