Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Liberty Global Ltd. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,322,924 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 1,855,428 shares.The stock last traded at $13.99 and had previously closed at $13.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LBTYA. UBS Group cut Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $23.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Liberty Global in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup began coverage on Liberty Global in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on Liberty Global from $20.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America raised Liberty Global from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $15.50 to $21.30 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.76.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.37 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Charles H. R. Bracken sold 84,103 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.56, for a total transaction of $1,224,539.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 53,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $776,222.72. The trade was a 61.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 11.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 110.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Liberty Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Global by 21,707.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 8,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Liberty Global by 4,512.4% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 8,754 shares during the period. 37.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.