Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Upgraded at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group upgraded Liberty Global to “hold,” while other analysts remain cautious; the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $9.00.
• Liberty Global shares fell 2.6% and opened at $8.45, after the company reported a quarterly EPS loss of $0.13, missing estimates of $0.02, despite revenue of $1.10 billion exceeding expectations.
• Insiders purchased 3.28 million shares worth approximately $28.8 million over the past three months, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.98% of the company.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LILAK. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of 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 Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Liberty Global from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $9.00.

Liberty Global Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ LILAK opened at $8.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of -17.24 and a beta of 0.71. Liberty Global has a twelve month low of $4.76 and a twelve month high of $9.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.94.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 2.20% and a negative return on equity of 8.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Liberty Global news, Director John Malone acquired 69,454 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.50 per share, for a total transaction of $590,359.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 306,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,605,853.50. The trade was a 29.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Bracken acquired 17,425 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.93 per share, with a total value of $364,705.25. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $862,148.56. This trade represents a 73.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 3,283,155 shares of company stock valued at $28,785,777 in the last three months. 9.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in Liberty Global during the second quarter worth $99,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global in the second quarter valued at $142,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Liberty Global by 813.1% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,108,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,638,000 after buying an additional 987,401 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 796,975 shares of the company's stock worth $7,029,000 after buying an additional 29,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cim Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 142.3% in the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 25,885 shares in the last quarter. 52.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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