Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ:LILA) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $5.95, but opened at $6.27. Liberty Latin America shares last traded at $6.2660, with a volume of 213,396 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Brendan J. Paddick acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $4.88 per share, with a total value of $488,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,559,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,610,564.96. This represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Balan Nair purchased 164,914 shares of Liberty Latin America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $6.07 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,027.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,276,798 shares in the company, valued at $19,890,163.86. The trade was a 5.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Latin America in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.00.

Liberty Latin America Stock Up 4.9%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 0.74.

Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Liberty Latin America had a negative return on equity of 45.66% and a negative net margin of 11.20%. Analysts forecast that Liberty Latin America Ltd. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Latin America

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Liberty Latin America during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Latin America by 58.8% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 5,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Latin America in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Liberty Latin America by 727.1% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 6,289 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Liberty Latin America by 96.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 4,089 shares during the last quarter. 18.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Liberty Latin America

Liberty Latin America is a telecommunications company that provides video, broadband internet, telephony and mobile services across Latin America and the Caribbean. The company’s operations span consumer and business markets, offering cable television packages, high-speed broadband connections, fixed-line voice services and wireless data plans. Through its brands, including Flow in several Caribbean territories and VTR in Chile, Liberty Latin America focuses on delivering converged digital solutions designed to meet both residential and enterprise needs.

Formed in 2018 as a spin-off from Liberty Global, Liberty Latin America built its initial footprint by integrating legacy assets acquired from Cable & Wireless Communications and Columbus Communications.