Analysts Slash Warner Bros. Discovery Price Targets Drastically
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) has seen multiple adjustments to its price targets and ratings from various financial institutions. Benchmark reduced its price target from $20.00 to $18.00 while maintaining a buy rating. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target from $9.00 to $7.00 and assigned an equal weight rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target to $15.00, also with a buy rating, while KeyCorp upgraded the stock from sector weight to overweight, setting a target price of $11.00.
The company's financial performance for the recent quarter was underwhelming, with a revenue decline of 6.2% year-over-year and a significant earnings miss. Warner Bros. Discovery reported earnings per share of ($4.07), far below the consensus estimate of ($0.18). This disappointing performance was accompanied by a $9.1 billion write-down of its traditional TV networks, attributed to a shift towards streaming and a reassessment of the value of its TV assets post-merger.
Despite these challenges, Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service, Max, showed growth, adding 3.6 million subscribers in the quarter, bringing its total to 103.3 million globally. However, the company faces significant debt, with $41.4 billion in gross debt and $3.6 billion in cash on hand as of June 30. Financial analysts remain divided, with some issuing positive reviews and others lowering their target prices and ratings due to the company's current financial outlook and performance.
