Benchmark Raises Price Target for Warner Bros. Discovery Stock

Equities analysts at Benchmark have raised their price target for Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) from $30.00 to $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.77% from the current trading price. This adjustment reflects a “buy” rating, reinforcing the firm’s confidence in the media giant’s future performance.

Several other financial institutions have also recently updated their positions on Warner Bros. Discovery. UBS Group increased its price objective from $10.00 to $20.00 with a “neutral” rating, as noted in their report dated October 6. In contrast, Barrington Research downgraded the stock from “outperform” to “hold” in a report issued on December 5. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a target price of $29.50, while Morgan Stanley established a price objective of $29.00 on December 18. Additionally, Singular Research upgraded the stock to a “moderate buy” on October 22.

Currently, the consensus on Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock is a “Moderate Buy,” with an average target price of $24.18 based on data from MarketBeat. Among analysts, two have rated the stock as a Strong Buy, eleven as Buy, twelve as Hold, and one as Sell.

Warner Bros. Discovery reported its quarterly earnings on November 6, revealing a loss of ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS), falling short of the expected ($0.04). The company generated $9.05 billion in revenue, below the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion, marking a 6.0% decrease from the same period last year.

In a notable development, several insider transactions occurred recently. Chief Accounting Officer Lori C. Locke sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $27.62, totaling $138,100.00. Post-sale, she retained 110,084 shares, valued at approximately $3,040,520.08, a decrease of 4.34% in her holdings. Additionally, Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels sold 242,994 shares at an average price of $29.50, amounting to $7,168,323.00. After this transaction, he held 918,940 shares, worth about $27,108,730, a reduction of 20.91%.

Over the past ninety days, insiders have sold 489,326 shares worth $12,781,456, with insiders owning 1.90% of total shares.

Institutional investors have also been actively adjusting their stakes. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings by 7.1% in the third quarter, now owning 281,214,155 shares valued at approximately $5.49 billion. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake by 0.9%, acquiring an additional 551,548 shares to reach 60,091,463 shares worth $685.8 million. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings by 2.8%, securing 44,574,492 shares valued at $510.8 million.

Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. significantly increased its position by 108.9%, now holding 35,095,390 shares valued at $685.4 million. Norges Bank also entered a new stake worth $306.8 million during the second quarter.

Warner Bros. Discovery, headquartered in New York City, was formed in 2022 through the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. The company operates a diverse portfolio that includes film and television production, streaming services, and cable networks, featuring well-known studio brands and a variety of programming.

As the market continues to react to these developments, investors will be closely monitoring Warner Bros. Discovery’s performance and strategic decisions in the coming months.