It’s all about change at Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) these days. It’s bringing in new personnel, making changes to operations, and planning a lot of big new moves in the days ahead. Investors, meanwhile, are looking optimistic and sent shares up modestly in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
One major problem in the New Zealand market was addressed. While Warner was about to shutter Newshub in the country, Stuff Group stepped up to take over the service and help ensure that there would be more than one English television news provider in the country. Without Newshub, only New Zealand’s state-owned TVNZ would have remained.
It’s also bringing in David Porter, formerly with Turner and Canoe Ventures, to serve as the head of advertising sales research. This will include measurement and partnership data, which will help keep Warner’s various television and streaming projects in line and producing revenue.
And Plenty More to Come
Meanwhile, the recently-concluded CinemaCon event gave us a look at a load of new titles coming out in the near term from Warner. A female-centric “Mad Max” release, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” was on tap, along with the debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan in “The Watchers,” two new “Superman” movies, including a documentary about Christopher Reeve, and two more Westerns from Kevin Costner.
But one title that may never see the light of day, despite clear consumer interest, is “Coyote Vs. Acme,” the live-action/animation mix that was placed on “indefinite hold” not so long ago. While some allege the move was done in a bid to save money on taxes, Warner formally denied that was the case in a recent interview.
Is WBD a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on WBD stock based on nine Buys, seven Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 41.78% loss in its share price over the past year, the average WBD price target of $13.61 per share implies 63.78% upside potential.
