Liberty Global's (LBTYA) Sell (D-) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Liberty Global's stock received a "sell (D-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, while other analysts have issued mixed evaluations, with some upgrading their ratings to "hold" or "buy."
• The company's latest earnings report showed a loss of $8.09 per share, significantly missing expectations, although revenue exceeded projections at $1.27 billion.
• Recent insider trading activities reveal that key executives have sold a significant number of shares, indicating a 64.36% decrease in ownership for the CFO after selling 60,000 shares.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell (d-)" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Liberty Global from $10.60 to $11.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised Liberty Global to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.26.

Liberty Global Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Liberty Global stock opened at $11.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.15 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $11.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.61. Liberty Global has a 1-year low of $9.02 and a 1-year high of $21.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Global news, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 33,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $375,718.20. This trade represents a 64.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jason Waldron sold 34,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total value of $397,089.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,823.65. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,980 shares of company stock valued at $1,577,091. 13.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Global

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 81.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,285 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 79.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global during the first quarter worth about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Liberty Global Company 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.

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