GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group (NASDAQ:GLIBK) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusually high call-option activity: Traders purchased 7,503 GLIBK call options, an 831% increase over the average daily volume of 806 calls.
• Shares declined 1.6% to $23.31 during Thursday trading, while the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.40 missed the $1.15 consensus estimate.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: The stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating, although insider buying increased recently, including Director John C. Malone’s purchase of 406,730 shares worth about $10.1 million.

GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group (NASDAQ:GLIBK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 7,503 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 831% compared to the average daily volume of 806 call options.

GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ GLIBK traded down $0.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $23.31. 36,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 555,696. The stock has a market cap of $835.63 million, a P/E ratio of -2.07 and a beta of -0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 3.37 and a current ratio of 3.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.50. GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group has a 1 year low of $19.30 and a 1 year high of $41.17.

GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group (NASDAQ:GLIBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.75). GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group had a positive return on equity of 11.56% and a negative net margin of 32.53%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GLIBK. Zacks Research raised GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John C. Malone purchased 406,730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $10,115,375.10. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,423,250 shares in the company, valued at $60,266,227.50. This trade represents a 20.17% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 543,232 shares of company stock worth $13,582,081.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $387,000. AXQ Capital LP grew its position in shares of GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group by 217.5% in the 2nd quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 83,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 57,515 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group by 2,965.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,207 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group by 50.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,473,000 after acquiring an additional 67,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi purchased a new stake in GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group in the first quarter valued at $2,818,000.

GCI Liberty, Inc. - Series C GCI Group Company Profile

GCI Liberty, Inc was a holding company associated with GCI Holdings, LLC, an Alaska-based telecommunications provider. Through GCI Holdings, the company offered wireless and wireline communications, data connectivity, broadband internet, video services, and voice services to residential, business, government, and wholesale customers.

GCI's network served communities throughout Alaska, including areas where geographic conditions and limited infrastructure create significant challenges for communications providers.

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