Liberty Global Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:LBTYA)

Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 6,961 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 287% compared to the average daily volume of 1,799 put options.

Liberty Global Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ LBTYA opened at $17.24 on Friday. Liberty Global has a 52 week low of $15.01 and a 52 week high of $20.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of -2.66 and a beta of 1.17.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter. Liberty Global had a negative return on equity of 14.07% and a negative net margin of 37.27%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.59) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Liberty Global will post -0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LBTYA. HSBC lowered Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, March 18th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Liberty Global from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Liberty Global from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Liberty Global has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J David Wargo sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $520,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 159,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,769,615.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 32,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total value of $573,533.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,462.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J David Wargo sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $520,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 159,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,769,615.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Global

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Liberty Global during the 4th quarter worth $73,550,000. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Liberty Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,943,000. Lancaster Investment Management purchased a new stake in Liberty Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,843,000. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC increased its position in Liberty Global by 375.4% during the 1st quarter. ACR Alpine Capital Research LLC now owns 2,744,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,432,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166,932 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,754,000. 37.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband internet, video, fixed-line telephony, and mobile communications services to residential and business customers. It offers value-added broadband services, such as WiFi features, security, anti-virus, firewall, spam protection, smart home services, online storage solutions, and web spaces; and Connect Box that delivers in-home Wi-Fi service.