Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Liberty Global PLC (NASDAQ:LILAK)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $5.35 and last traded at $5.4090, with a volume of 138770 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $7.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on LILAK. Wall Street Zen downgraded Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.20.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.15 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.12 and its 200 day moving average is $8.03.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 43.70% and a negative net margin of 11.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liberty Global news, CEO Balan Nair acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $8.07 per share, with a total value of $161,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,125,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,219,064.73. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Malone acquired 12,406,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.63 per share, with a total value of $107,067,775.69. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,173,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,723,145.34. This represents a 141.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 9.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

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