Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, an increase of 16.3% from the December 15th total of 4,490,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,360,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Liberty Global from $20.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group cut shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $38.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America cut shares of Liberty Global from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $13.10 to $12.60 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Global has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liberty Global news, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 84,103 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.56, for a total transaction of $1,224,539.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $776,222.72. The trade was a 61.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 11.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Liberty Global by 153.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 496,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,471,000 after buying an additional 300,126 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Liberty Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,953,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 2,799.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,646,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485,823 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Liberty Global in the second quarter worth $1,390,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the second quarter worth $624,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.20% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LBTYA remained flat at $11.69 during trading on Friday. 1,145,643 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,751,720. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.11 and its 200-day moving average is $17.42. Liberty Global has a 12 month low of $10.93 and a 12 month high of $21.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.15 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony, and mobile communications services to residential and business customers. It offers value-added broadband services, such as WiFi features, security, anti-virus, firewall, spam protection, smart home services, online storage solutions, and web spaces; and Connect Box that delivers in-home Wi-Fi service.