Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.28, but opened at $7.88. Liberty Global shares last traded at $8.1150, with a volume of 137,523 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LILAK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Liberty Global from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $8.60.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.53 and a 200-day moving average of $7.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.57 and a beta of 0.71.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.15). Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 8.50% and a negative net margin of 2.20%.The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion.

Insider Activity at Liberty Global

In related news, Director Charles H. R. Bracken purchased 17,425 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.93 per share, for a total transaction of $364,705.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,192 shares in the company, valued at $862,148.56. This represents a 73.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John M. Winter purchased 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.67 per share, for a total transaction of $99,746.57. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 64,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,269,639.49. This represents a 8.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 15,092,142 shares of company stock worth $124,845,482. 9.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Liberty Global by 377.3% during the first 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Liberty Global during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 85.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,934 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC bought a new stake in Liberty Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. 52.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.