Balefire LLC Reduces Position in Liberty Global Ltd $LBTYA

Balefire LLC cut its holdings in Liberty Global Ltd (NASDAQ:LBTYA) by 84.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,422 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,701 shares during the period. Balefire LLC’s holdings in Liberty Global were worth $126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Liberty Global by 801.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 120,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,383,000 after buying an additional 106,870 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Liberty Global during the first quarter worth about $64,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Liberty Global by 197.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,520,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,504,000 after buying an additional 1,010,118 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Liberty Global by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 451,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,201,000 after acquiring an additional 98,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. Institutional investors own 37.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LBTYA. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Liberty Global from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Liberty Global from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Pivotal Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Liberty Global in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Liberty Global from $12.60 to $12.10 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.02.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J David Wargo sold 55,000 shares of Liberty Global stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.54, for a total value of $634,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $621,729.04. The trade was a 50.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Liberty Global Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LBTYA opened at $10.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.65 and a beta of 0.93. Liberty Global Ltd has a 12 month low of $9.63 and a 12 month high of $13.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.66.

Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $1.31. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. Liberty Global had a negative net margin of 109.64% and a negative return on equity of 47.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Liberty Global Ltd will post -1.38 EPS for the current year.

About Liberty Global

Liberty Global plc operates as a leading international telecommunications and television company, offering a wide array of broadband internet, digital cable television, fixed-line telephony and mobile services. Through its extensive fiber and hybrid-fiber coaxial networks, the company delivers high-speed internet connectivity, video on demand and interactive television platforms to residential and business customers. Its service portfolio includes digital voice, managed Wi-Fi solutions, home security and converged connectivity bundles designed to meet evolving consumer and enterprise demands.

The company’s footprint spans key European markets, including the United Kingdom and Ireland under the Virgin Media brand, the Netherlands through Ziggo, Belgium via Telenet, and operations in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Poland and Luxembourg.