Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

LILAK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $9.00.

Liberty Global Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LILAK opened at $8.45 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.24 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.94. Liberty Global has a 52 week low of $4.76 and a 52 week high of $9.13.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Liberty Global

In related news, Director Angoitia Alfonso De purchased 313,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $6,559,528.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 476,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,976,180.50. This trade represents a 191.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brendan J. Paddick acquired 100,000 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.88 per share, for a total transaction of $488,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,559,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,610,564.96. This represents a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders bought 3,283,155 shares of company stock valued at $28,785,777. 9.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Liberty Global by 67.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 79,917 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 77,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Liberty Global by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 367,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 35,844 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 316.4% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 153,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 116,861 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 158,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.98% of the company’s stock.

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.