Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Sets New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Liberty Global shares fell to a new 52-week low of $9.40, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, reflecting continued weakness in the stock.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $13.22 target price, although UBS and Barclays recently lowered their targets and Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell rating.
• The company reported a significant quarterly miss, with an EPS loss of $1.07 versus estimates of $0.48 and revenue of $1.17 billion versus $1.34 billion expected; analysts project a full-year loss of $1.54 per share.

Shares of Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $9.40 and last traded at $9.42, with a volume of 3162885 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Liberty Global Stock Down 0.6%

The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.05 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.54 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Liberty Global by 94.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 349,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,979,000 after buying an additional 170,328 shares in the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in Liberty Global in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,196,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Liberty Global by 16.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 675,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,162,000 after purchasing an additional 95,244 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Liberty Global by 167.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 284,718 shares of the company's stock worth $3,442,000 after buying an additional 178,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,832,267 shares of the company's stock worth $106,782,000 after acquiring an additional 521,750 shares in the last quarter. 37.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liberty Global

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.