Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 170,328 Shares of Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops nearly doubled its Liberty Global stake, purchasing 170,328 additional shares in the second quarter and bringing its holdings to 349,916 shares valued at approximately $3.98 million.
• Liberty Global reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, with a loss of $1.07 per share versus the $0.48 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.17 billion, below the $1.34 billion forecast.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating, with Barclays and UBS lowering their price targets; shares recently traded at $10.47, near the lower end of their 52-week range.

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Free Report) by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349,916 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 170,328 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.10% of Liberty Global worth $3,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LBTYA. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 9.7% during the first quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 23,644,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,097,847 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,423,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,543,000 after buying an additional 5,751,520 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 11,752,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,092,000 after buying an additional 1,734,423 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,832,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,782,000 after buying an additional 521,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contour Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 5,183,133 shares of the company's stock worth $57,740,000 after acquiring an additional 857,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LBTYA opened at $10.47 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $10.55 and its 200 day moving average is $11.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.17 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Liberty Global Ltd has a 52-week low of $9.43 and a 52-week high of $13.52.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported ($1.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.59). Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 28.83% and a negative net margin of 62.12%.The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Research analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Liberty Global

In related news, Director J Wargo sold 55,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.54, for a total transaction of $634,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $621,729.04. The trade was a 50.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LBTYA. Barclays decreased their price objective on Liberty Global from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $12.10 to $11.90 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $13.22.

Liberty Global Company Profile

Liberty Global plc is an international telecommunications and investment company focused on broadband, mobile, video, and fixed-line communications services. Through its operating businesses and strategic investments, the company provides connectivity, television, and digital services to consumers and businesses.

Liberty Global has interests in telecommunications operations across Europe. Its portfolio has included Virgin Media O2 in the United Kingdom, a joint venture with Telefónica; Telenet in Belgium; and Sunrise in Switzerland.

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