Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $8.00 to $9.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.76% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on LILAK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $8.60.

Liberty Global Price Performance

Liberty Global stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $8.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,228,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,397. Liberty Global has a 12-month low of $4.76 and a 12-month high of $9.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $7.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.20 and a beta of 0.71.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.15). Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 2.20% and a negative return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Liberty Global news, Director John C. Malone bought 113,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.12 per share, for a total transaction of $1,150,684.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,351,126 shares in the company, valued at $13,673,395.12. The trade was a 9.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brendan J. Paddick purchased 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.88 per share, with a total value of $488,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,559,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,610,564.96. This trade represents a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 15,017,260 shares of company stock valued at $123,992,392 in the last 90 days. 9.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 796,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,029,000 after purchasing an additional 29,933 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Liberty Global by 142.3% during the first quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 25,885 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Liberty Global by 26.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 467,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,124,000 after buying an additional 98,507 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Liberty Global by 377.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 2,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP raised its stake in Liberty Global by 44.5% in the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,395,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,788,000 after buying an additional 4,738,495 shares in the last quarter. 52.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global plc is a leading international telecommunications and television company, offering video, broadband Internet, fixed-line and mobile services to residential and business customers. Headquartered in London and operating as an ADR on the NASDAQ under the ticker LILAK, the company focuses on developing advanced broadband networks and delivering entertainment and connectivity solutions across Europe.

The company’s core products include high-speed cable broadband, digital and interactive television, fixed-line telephony, and mobile services.