Short Interest in Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) Drops By 15.5%

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 80,050,000 shares, a decrease of 15.5% from the December 31st total of 94,760,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 29,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WBD. Barclays increased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $9.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Warner Bros. Discovery from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.76.

Insider Activity at Warner Bros. Discovery

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 transaction of $2,094,228.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 599,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,407,558.12. The trade was a 22.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Warner Bros. Discovery

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Warner Bros. Discovery during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 448.3% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 3,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 54.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. 59.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Warner Bros. Discovery Trading Down 1.7 %

Warner Bros. Discovery stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.44. The stock had a trading volume of 33,324,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,773,818. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a PE ratio of -2.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.92. Warner Bros. Discovery has a 12 month low of $6.64 and a 12 month high of $12.70.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.12. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative return on equity of 27.56% and a negative net margin of 28.34%. The business had revenue of $9.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.33 EPS for the current year.

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.