Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Stock Price Up 4.9% After Insider Buying Activity

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK)’s stock price traded up 4.9% during trading on Tuesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as $9.78 and last traded at $9.8010. 880,729 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 1,247,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.34.

Specifically, Director John Malone acquired 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.08 per share, for a total transaction of $61,384.56. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,057 shares in the company, valued at $61,384.56. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Malone purchased 7,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.08 per share, with a total value of $159,836.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,313,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,457,830.96. This represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Liberty Global from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 shares of Liberty Global in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Liberty Global Stock Down 5.6%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.52 and a 200 day moving average of $8.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LILAK. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 119.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 266,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,194,000 after acquiring an additional 145,311 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter valued at about $763,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 2,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in Liberty Global by 94.0% during the third quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 35,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 17,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.98% of the company’s stock.

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.