Warner Bros is breaking into two publicly traded companies
Media & entertainment stock Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) was last seen up 10.1% at $10.81, after the company announced it will split into two publicly traded companies by next year. CEO David Zaslav will head the streaming and studios company, which will contain HBO Max, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will become CEO of the global networks business, which includes CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery.
Today's pop has Warner Bros stock breaking above recent pressure at $10, trading at its highest level since April 1. The equity is also moving into positive territory for the year with a now-3.1% year-to-date gain.
Options bulls are blasting the stock after today's reports. So far, 60,000 calls have crossed the tape -- 11 times the amount typically seen by WBD at this point in a session -- compared to 6,650 puts. The June 11 call is the most popular, followed by the weekly 6/13 11-strike call, with new positions opening at the latter.
Calls were more popular than usual leading up to today, too. WBD's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 5.67 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks higher than 99% of readings from the past year.