Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Stock Crosses Above 50 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Liberty Global shares crossed above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $9.59 and last at $9.58, compared with a 50-day average of $9.26.
• Analyst views are mixed, but the consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $12.78; recent targets range from Barclays’ $7 to New Street Research’s $14.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.32, beating the consensus estimate of a $0.32 loss, and revenue of $1.92 billion versus estimates of $1.71 billion.

Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.26 and traded as high as $9.59. Liberty Global shares last traded at $9.58, with a volume of 13,882,712 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LBTYA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Liberty Global to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Liberty Global from $10.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. New Street Research raised shares of Liberty Global from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Liberty Global from $12.10 to $11.90 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.78.

Liberty Global Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.98.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $1.64. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 44.40% and a negative return on equity of 25.59%. The business had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Liberty Global by 42.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,590 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 54.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the second quarter valued at about $76,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.20% of the company's stock.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global plc is an international telecommunications and media company that invests in and operates broadband, mobile, fixed-line, video and related digital services. Its offerings generally include high-speed internet, television, telephony, mobile connectivity and business communications services for residential and enterprise customers.

The company has operations and strategic investments across Europe. Its portfolio includes Sunrise in Switzerland and Telenet in Belgium, as well as 50% interests in Virgin Media O2 in the United Kingdom, a joint venture with Telefónica, and VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, a joint venture with Vodafone.

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