Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)

Benchmark reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $18.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on WBD. Macquarie increased their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Warner Bros. Discovery from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.76.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WBD opened at $10.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Warner Bros. Discovery has a one year low of $6.64 and a one year high of $12.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.29, a PEG ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.49.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Savalle Sims sold 169,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.36, for a total value of $2,094,228.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 599,317 shares in the company, valued at $7,407,558.12. The trade was a 22.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,579,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,281,000 after purchasing an additional 78,653 shares during the last quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH increased its position in Warner Bros. Discovery by 56.1% during the third quarter. Hauser Brothers GmbH now owns 1,225,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,106,000 after buying an additional 440,000 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 37.7% in the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 6,886,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,868 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in the third quarter valued at $1,474,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the third quarter valued at $588,000. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Studios, Network, and DTC. The Studios segment produces and releases feature films for initial exhibition in theaters; produces and licenses television programs to its networks and third parties and direct-to-consumer services; distributes films and television programs to various third parties and internal television; and offers streaming services and distribution through the home entertainment market, themed experience licensing, and interactive gaming.