Study of DISCA
- 13/04/2022 – news
Warner Bros. Discovery jumps 9%, as BofA sees 68% upside after near-term volatility
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is the No. 2 gainer in all of the S&P 500 today (behind only American Airlines), up 8.8% after a very bullish initiation at BofA.
Analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich launched coverage at Buy with a $45 price target, implying a further 68% upside from today’s already strong gain.
- 09/24/2021 – the streaming evolution starts with slow but steady pace
WarnerMedia opens new Asia hub as it readies regional HBO Max launch
- WarnerMedia (NYSE:T) has opened its new regional hub for Asia in Singapore – a stepping stone for the eventual launch of HBO Max in the region.
- The new hub, which covers the continent excluding China and Japan, rolls up responsibility for all of the company’s business in the region, encapsulating the Warner Bros., Turner and HBO brands.
- 08/25/2021 – CNN+, good for DISCA?
The new CNN+ was announced last month, and the chief digital officer for CNN, Andrew Morse, who will oversee the streamer, asserted that “this is the most important launch for CNN since Ted Turner launched the network in June of 1980.”
CNN+ plans to offer eight to 12 hours of live programming each day, but it won’t just be a direct copy of what you see on the cable network. Due to agreements with cable and satellite carriers, CNN can’t livestream its broadcast feed over an app. Instead, it will build something similar… but different, and has been on a hiring spree to support the effort. The new service will also offer original series and a promised “interactive community.”
If successful, CNN+ will allow the franchise to reach cord cutters and news junkies, while not disrupting the estimated $1 billion or more in profits that Warner’s parent company, AT&T (T) makes annually off the news network.
- 06/10/2021 – two great writeups on this thesis
Discovery Will Easily Compete With Netflix And Disney
As described in the May 17, 2021, merger deck Discovery (NASDAQ:DISCK) will acquire Warner Media from AT&T in a deal expected to close mid 2022.
Some final $DISCA / $T ramblings (don’t sleep on a $CMCSA topping bid!)
- 06/10/2021 – It is a great plan. But need approval on Mid 2022, and people need to see the performance. Should I wait for next year or invest a small amount?
Watch CNBC’s full interview with Liberty Media’s John Malone on WarnerMedia-Discovery deal
- it sounds like Malone’s idea is to use Discovery’s localization capabilities and global scale to localize not just reality TV but also sports and most interestingly, news. Nobody has tried this before, but with CNN as the brand name, they could innovate a truly global news service.I do wonder what this means for HBO though. Both AMZN and AAPL are going after the premium content audience.
- The merge gives the scale and power for Discovery/Warner to grow in streaming business.
- Malone will sacrifice his control shares (share B) to make this merge
- 05/17/2021
AT&T’s Hollywood Ending Erased Billions in Value – WSJ
AT&T’s Hollywood Ending Erased Billions in Value
Telecom giant is giving up its dreams of marrying content and distribution—one of the biggest about-faces in corporate deal history
- 03/28/2021 – it might be a rare opportunity to buy the dip in DISCA due to the fire sale. The fundamental is not changed.
Ex-Tiger Asia Founder Triggers $30 Billion in Large Stocks Sales – WSJ
One mystery in a dramatic year on Wall Street has been the identity of a trader whose persistent purchases have sent shares in ViacomCBS Inc., Discovery Inc. and a handful of other companies surging even when the broader market was down.
People familiar with the transactions say the answer is former Tiger Asia manager Bill Hwang. Late last week Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG swiftly unloaded large blocks of shares in those companies and others, part of the liquidation of positions at Mr. Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management.
The sales approached $30 billion in value
According to people familiar with the fund, the highly leveraged Archegos took big, concentrated positions in companies and held some positions via swaps. Those are contracts brokered by Wall Street banks that allow a user to take on the profits and losses of a portfolio of stocks or other assets in exchange for a fee.
The use of swaps allowed Mr. Hwang to maintain his anonymity, even as Archegos was estimated to have had exposure to the economics of more than 10% of multiple companies’ shares. Investors holding more than 10% of a company’s securities are deemed to be company insiders and are subject to additional regulations around disclosures and profits.
Stock blocks sold Friday amounted to 10% or more of outstanding shares in companies including online luxury retailer Farfetch Ltd. and New York-listed Chinese tutoring company GSX Techedu Inc.
The episode reignites debate over whether the use of swaps presents a market vulnerability.
Archegos Capital was forced to sell more than $20B in stocks on Friday
ViacomCBS, Discovery plunge due in part to forced liquidation of Archegos Capital positions
- Some of the selling pressure in select U.S. media stocks and Chinese internet ADRs on Friday was due to the forced liquidation of positions held by Archegos Capital, a source told CNBC.
- Archegos Capital was founded by the former Tiger Management equity analyst, Bill Hwang.
- ViacomCBS and Discovery closed down more than 27% on Friday, with Viacom off more than 50% for the week while Discovery slid 45%.
03/28/2021 – DISCA seems like a good undervalue company
Discovery: What’s Next After The Stellar Share Price Performance
