Wall Street Zen Downgrades Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) to Hold

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Global currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $8.20.

Liberty Global Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LILAK opened at $7.94 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.59 and a beta of 0.99. Liberty Global has a 52-week low of $4.23 and a 52-week high of $9.13.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LILAK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.37). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 13.76% and a negative return on equity of 48.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liberty Global news, CAO Brian D. Zook sold 94,494 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.04, for a total value of $759,731.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,776.52. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global in the third quarter valued at $86,569,000. Oaktree Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Liberty Global by 186.4% during the third quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,669,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,293,000 after acquiring an additional 4,341,307 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP increased its position in shares of Liberty Global by 51.4% during the second quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 3,835,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302,037 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Liberty Global by 899.7% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,093,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,228,000 after acquiring an additional 983,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new position in Liberty Global in the second quarter valued at about $3,627,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.98% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Global Company Profile

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.