Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 58,442 call options on the company. This is an increase of 31% compared to the typical daily volume of 44,598 call options.

Warner Bros. Discovery Price Performance

WBD traded up $0.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.31. The stock had a trading volume of 44,710,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,935,654. The stock has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of -1.97 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Warner Bros. Discovery has a one year low of $6.64 and a one year high of $12.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $7.84 and a 200-day moving average of $7.82.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($4.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by ($3.89). The firm had revenue of $9.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Warner Bros. Discovery had a negative net margin of 29.47% and a negative return on equity of 27.28%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.51) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Warner Bros. Discovery will post -4.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WBD. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 45.9% during the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery by 665.4% during the first quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 3,480 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Warner Bros. Discovery during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 59.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WBD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Warner Bros. Discovery from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Warner Bros. Discovery from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Warner Bros. Discovery from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $10.00 to $8.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Warner Bros. Discovery currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.66.

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.