Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) Trading 8.8% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Liberty Latin America shares rose 8.8% to about $8.48 in midday trading, with volume below the stock’s average.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and a $10 average price target, while recent coverage included a “Sell” rating and a $7 target.
• Insiders purchased approximately 14.8 million shares worth $121.2 million during the quarter, while the company’s latest results missed expectations and showed negative earnings, margins and return on equity.

Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ:LILA - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 8.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.51 and last traded at $8.4760. 350,366 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 483,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Latin America in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 target price on shares of Liberty Latin America in a report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Liberty Latin America Trading Up 6.1%

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $7.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 0.74.

Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.14). Liberty Latin America had a negative return on equity of 45.66% and a negative net margin of 11.20%.The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Liberty Latin America Ltd. will post -0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Latin America news, Director John C. Malone purchased 12,406,463 shares of the 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 21,173,018 shares in the company, valued at $182,723,145.34. The trade was a 141.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Brendan J. Paddick purchased 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $4.88 per share, for a total transaction of $488,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,559,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,610,564.96. The trade was a 6.85% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 14,820,228 shares of company stock valued at $121,249,631. 6.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Latin America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fourth Sail Capital LP grew its position in Liberty Latin America by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 909,742 shares of the company's stock worth $6,723,000 after purchasing an additional 160,981 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Latin America by 72.8% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 273,382 shares of the company's stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 115,148 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Latin America by 93.0% during the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,750,000 shares of the company's stock worth $32,400,000 after buying an additional 1,806,935 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Liberty Latin America by 121.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 63,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 35,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its position in shares of Liberty Latin America by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 54,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 18,398 shares during the period. 18.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Liberty Latin America Company Profile

Liberty Latin America is a telecommunications company that provides video, broadband internet, telephony and mobile services across Latin America and the Caribbean. The company's operations span consumer and business markets, offering cable television packages, high-speed broadband connections, fixed-line voice services and wireless data plans. Through its brands, including Flow in several Caribbean territories and VTR in Chile, Liberty Latin America focuses on delivering converged digital solutions designed to meet both residential and enterprise needs.

Formed in 2018 as a spin-off from Liberty Global, Liberty Latin America built its initial footprint by integrating legacy assets acquired from Cable & Wireless Communications and Columbus Communications.

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