Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Trading Up 5.2% – Still a Buy?

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK) traded up 5.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $7.71 and last traded at $7.7830. 86,101 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 1,069,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on LILAK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Global presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.20.

Liberty Global Stock Up 1.1%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.02 and a beta of 0.72.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.15). Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 11.20% and a negative return on equity of 43.70%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Global news, Director Brendan J. Paddick purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.88 per share, for a total transaction of $488,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,559,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,610,564.96. This represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Balan Nair purchased 164,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $6.07 per share, with a total value of $1,001,027.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,276,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,890,163.86. This trade represents a 5.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 14,820,228 shares of company stock valued at $121,249,631 over the last three months. 9.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LILAK. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 796,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,029,000 after purchasing an additional 29,933 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 142.3% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 25,885 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Liberty Global by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 467,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,124,000 after buying an additional 98,507 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Liberty Global by 377.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in Liberty Global by 44.5% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,395,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,788,000 after buying an additional 4,738,495 shares during the period. 52.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global plc is a leading international telecommunications and television company, offering video, broadband Internet, fixed-line and mobile services to residential and business customers. Headquartered in London and operating as an ADR on the NASDAQ under the ticker LILAK, the company focuses on developing advanced broadband networks and delivering entertainment and connectivity solutions across Europe.

The company’s core products include high-speed cable broadband, digital and interactive television, fixed-line telephony, and mobile services.