Paramount‘s second quarterly earnings report under the leadership of CEO David Ellison is in, but Wall Street attention remains focused on the company’s attempts to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, in a showdown with Netflix, via a sweetened bid. Ellison highlighted in a letter to shareholders after the Wednesday market close that he and his team see the potential mega-deal as a key strategic focus. “While we are confident in our standalone strategy and growth trajectory for Paramount, we view WBD as an accelerant to achieving these goals more quickly,” he highlighted. Wall Street analysts on Thursday started dissecting Paramount’s results and latest management commentary. Here is The Hollywood Reporter‘s look at their takeaways. Analyst: Michael Morris, GuggenheimStock rating and price target: neutral, $16, down $5Key takeaways: “Early Skydance playbook on track,” Morris highlighted in the headline of his report, noting that results were “largely in line” with management guidance. And he shared this takeaway: “Strong cost discipline at TV Media offset weaker than forecast operating income before depreciation and amortization at direct-to-consumer/film.” The analyst said he cut …