Warner Bros. shares are headed for best nine-day streak in nearly two decades
By Jon Swartz
The media company's stock has soared 40% during the current streak and nearly 30% this year
Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s winning streak is on pace for a ninth consecutive day, and for 10 out of the past 11 days, with shares popping more than 6% Tuesday.
The media company (WBD), whose stock has soared 40% during the streak and nearly 30% this year, is headed for its best nine-day stretch since July 2005, according to Dow Jones research.
Fueling the growth are financial notes such as BofA's Tuesday note, which predicts "an improving narrative."
"We anticipate '23 will be the beginning of our growth and deleveraging thesis for [Warner Bros. Discovery]," BofA analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich wrote. "At this point, the majority of heavy lifting (related to restructuring charges etc.) has been completed, direct-to-consumer (DTC) losses peaked in '22 with a path to breakeven in '24, and the cyclical headwinds should abate as macro conditions improve."
The BofA note maintains a buy position and a $21 price objective on Warner Bros. shares.
The sunny outlook on Warner Bros. Discovery comes just over a week before Netflix Inc. (NFLX) is scheduled to be the first major streaming service to report quarterly results, on Jan. 19. Warner Bros. is scheduled to announce fiscal fourth-quarter results on Feb. 9.
Netflix's results should offer a tell on the state of the streaming industry, following a brutal quarter for Walt Disney Co. (DIS), which reported exorbitant expenses for Disney+, leading to a cost-cutting campaign and the ouster of Bob Chapek as chief executive.
-Jon Swartz
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 10, 2023 12:38 ET (17:38 GMT)
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