Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 82,363 Shares of Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Liberty Global Ltd by 586% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 96,419 shares worth approximately $1.11 million.
• Insiders have recently sold a total of 136,980 shares of Liberty Global stock, with the Chief Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer reducing their holdings by over 80% and 64%, respectively.
• Liberty Global reported a loss of $8.09 per share in its last quarter, missing estimates by $7.54, while its revenue beat expectations at $1.27 billion.

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its position in Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) by 586.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,419 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 82,363 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Liberty Global were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Liberty Global by 456.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 14,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 11,930 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its stake in Liberty Global by 62.0% during the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 597,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,881,000 after purchasing an additional 228,777 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its holdings in Liberty Global by 5.6% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,612,282 shares of the company's stock worth $18,557,000 after buying an additional 84,812 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Liberty Global in the first quarter worth approximately $3,586,000. Finally, First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 2,298,762 shares of the company's stock worth $26,459,000 after acquiring an additional 34,367 shares in the last quarter. 37.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Liberty Global Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Liberty Global stock traded up $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $11.90. 899,237 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,071,525. Liberty Global Ltd has a 12-month low of $9.02 and a 12-month high of $21.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of -1.22 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.58.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported ($8.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($7.54). The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 60.38% and a negative return on equity of 22.64%. Sell-side analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Miranda Curtis sold 42,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $501,402.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 129,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,919.85. This represents a 24.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.31, for a total transaction of $678,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 33,220 shares in the company, valued at $375,718.20. The trade was a 64.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,980 shares of company stock valued at $1,577,091 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on LBTYA. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $10.60 to $11.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Liberty Global has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.26.

Liberty Global 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.