Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) Shares Gap Up on Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ:LILA) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $5.95, but opened at $6.27. Liberty Latin America shares last traded at $6.2660, with a volume of 213,396 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Brendan J. Paddick acquired 100,000 shares of Liberty Latin America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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. This trade represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Balan Nair bought 164,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.07 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,027.98. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,276,798 shares in the company, valued at $19,890,163.86. This trade represents a 5.30% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Latin America in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Liberty Latin America Trading Up 4.9%

The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $7.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Liberty Latin America had a negative net margin of 11.20% and a negative return on equity of 45.66%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Liberty Latin America Ltd. will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Liberty Latin America by 93.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Liberty Latin America by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 265,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,295,000 after acquiring an additional 23,954 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Liberty Latin America by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 864,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,470,000 after acquiring an additional 185,300 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Latin America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Liberty Latin America by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 18.48% of the company’s stock.

About Liberty Latin America

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.