Credit Suisse Group Reiterates “Underperform” Rating for Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA)

Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Credit Suisse Group in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, July 22nd. They currently have a $24.00 price target on the stock. Credit Suisse Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.71% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. FBR & Co reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Discovery Communications in a report on Friday, April 7th. TheStreet raised Discovery Communications from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Pivotal Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of Discovery Communications in a report on Sunday, April 23rd. Citigroup Inc. raised Discovery Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Discovery Communications from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Discovery Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.27.

Discovery Communications (DISCA) traded up 1.12% on Friday, reaching $22.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,179,155 shares. Discovery Communications has a 52 week low of $22.12 and a 52 week high of $30.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.12 and a 200 day moving average of $26.95.

Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 31st. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Discovery Communications had a net margin of 16.88% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Discovery Communications will post $2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, insider Bruce Campbell sold 9,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.43, for a total transaction of $245,349.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.01 per share, with a total value of $460,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,200. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 45,000 shares of company stock worth $1,016,200 in the last quarter. 5.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DISCA. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Discovery Communications by 5.7% in the first quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 145,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after buying an additional 7,864 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in Discovery Communications by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 57,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. raised its stake in Discovery Communications by 92.1% in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co. now owns 155,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,260,000 after buying an additional 74,500 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in Discovery Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Finally, Teachers Advisors LLC raised its stake in Discovery Communications by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 316,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,689,000 after buying an additional 15,272 shares in the last quarter. 44.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications, Inc (Discovery) is a global media company. The Company provides content across multiple distribution platforms, including pay-television (pay-TV), free-to-air (FTA) and broadcast television, Websites, digital distribution arrangements and content licensing agreements. Its segments include U.S.