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

Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 6,961 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 287% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,799 put options.

Liberty Global Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of LBTYA stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $17.11. The stock had a trading volume of 244,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,748,650. Liberty Global has a twelve month low of $15.01 and a twelve month high of $20.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.44.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Liberty Global news, Director J David Wargo sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total transaction of $520,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 159,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,769,615.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Liberty Global news, EVP Andrea Salvato sold 32,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.70, for a total transaction of $573,533.10. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J David Wargo sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total value of $520,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 159,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,769,615.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Liberty Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LBTYA. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Liberty Global by 246.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 36,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 25,873 shares in the last quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Liberty Global by 7.8% during the third quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. now owns 293,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,032,000 after buying an additional 21,300 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Liberty Global during the third quarter worth approximately $34,754,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Liberty Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $246,000. 37.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Liberty Global from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Liberty Global from $23.00 to $22.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Liberty Global in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. HSBC cut shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $26.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Liberty Global from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.25.

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.