Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $5.88, but opened at $6.15. Liberty Global shares last traded at $6.2020, with a volume of 226,342 shares traded.

Specifically, Director Brendan J. Paddick bought 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.88 per share, for a total transaction of $488,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,559,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,610,564.96. This trade represents a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Balan Nair purchased 164,914 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.07 per share, with a total value of $1,001,027.98. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,276,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,890,163.86. This represents a 5.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LILAK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Global presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.20.

Liberty Global Trading Up 4.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.49 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $7.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.90.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 43.70% and a negative net margin of 11.20%.The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 67.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 79,917 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Liberty Global by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 77,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 367,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 35,844 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 316.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 153,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 116,861 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 158,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.98% of the company’s stock.

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.