Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Shares Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK)’s share price traded up 4.9% on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $9.78 and last traded at $9.8010. Approximately 880,729 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,247,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LILAK. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $9.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.00.

Liberty Global Stock Up 5.3%

The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.57 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.07.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 8.50% and a negative net margin of 3.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Angoitia Alfonso De acquired 313,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $6,559,528.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 476,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,976,180.50. This represents a 191.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Malone bought 21,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.98 per share, for a total transaction of $188,696.74. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,412,175 shares in the company, valued at $12,681,331.50. The trade was a 1.51% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought 713,505 shares of company stock valued at $12,720,801 over the last 90 days. 9.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 44.5% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,395,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,738,495 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Liberty Global by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,687,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,439,000 after buying an additional 129,952 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 29,933 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Liberty Global by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 744,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,564,000 after buying an additional 66,209 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 26.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 467,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,124,000 after buying an additional 98,507 shares during the last quarter. 52.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global plc is an international telecommunications and media company that provides broadband, mobile, television and related digital services through operating companies and joint ventures. Its businesses serve customers in several European markets, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Its operations include Virgin Media O2 in the UK, a joint venture with Telefónica; VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, also a joint venture; and businesses such as Telenet in Belgium and Sunrise in Switzerland.