Warner Bros. Discovery rises as Truist starts coverage ahead of streaming event
Presley Ann

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) shares rose in premarket trading on Monday as investment firm Truist started coverage on the media company ahead of its streaming event, scheduled for later this week.
Analyst Matthew Thornton started Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shares with a buy rating and per-share price target of $19, implying roughly 25% upside from current levels, noting the company's upcoming HBO Max relaunch should "drive renewed subscriber and [average revenue per user] momentum." 
"We expect renewed momentum in subscribers (gross adds, retention) and ARPU (consumer, ads) with optionality around premium (sports, news) and FAST tiers," Thornton wrote in an investor note. In a survey, Thornton found HBO Max is the fourth-most used streaming service, behind Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN) Prime Video and Hulu, which is jointly owned by Walt Disney (DIS) and Comcast (CMCSA). 
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is slated to host a press event this week showing off its updated streaming plans.
In addition, Thornton noted that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has a "multi-year" deleveraging that can help support its equity value, along with an opportunity for "significant" exploitation of its DC-related intellectual property in an effort to close the gap between the storied comic book brand and Disney's (DIS) Marvel television and movie efforts.
Lastly, Thornton expects upside to the company's adjusted EBITDA, with the potential to generate $12.9B in 2024, topping the Wall Street estimate of $12.4B.
Over the weekend, several lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), requested the U.S. Dept. of Justice investigate the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) deal over alleged anticompetitive behavior.