Stock Analysis

Insiders Re-Evaluate Their US$1.37m Stock Purchase As Warner Bros. Discovery Falls To US$18b

NasdaqGS:WBD
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Insiders who bought US$1.37m worth of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:WBD) stock at an average buy price of US$9.89 over the last year may be disappointed by the recent 13% decrease in the stock. This is not good as insiders invest based on expectations that their money will appreciate over time. However, as a result of recent losses, their original investment is now worth only US$1.01m.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

See our latest analysis for Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when President of International Gerhard Zeiler bought US$830k worth of shares at a price of US$8.30 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of US$7.29. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Gerhard Zeiler was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

Gerhard Zeiler purchased 138.00k shares over the year. The average price per share was US$9.89. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

insider-trading-volume
NasdaqGS:WBD Insider Trading Volume June 14th 2024

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of undervalued small cap companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership Of Warner Bros. Discovery

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Warner Bros. Discovery insiders own 1.3% of the company, currently worth about US$225m based on the recent share price. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The Warner Bros. Discovery Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Warner Bros. Discovery. Nice! If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.