Short Interest in Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA) Increases By 6.0%

Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,500,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the February 13th total of 5,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bryan H. Hall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.76, for a total transaction of $103,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 133,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,763,882.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liberty Global

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Liberty Global by 40.0% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 272.3% in the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Liberty Global by 387.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Liberty Global by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Liberty Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 31.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LBTYA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Liberty Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $31.60 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Liberty Global from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Liberty Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Liberty Global from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.31.

Liberty Global Stock Up 0.1 %

LBTYA stock opened at $18.90 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 1.61. Liberty Global has a fifty-two week low of $15.22 and a fifty-two week high of $26.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

Liberty Global Company Profile

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Liberty Global Plc operates as an international converged fixed and mobile communications company, which engages in the provision of connectivity and entertainment and connectivity services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Switzerland, Belgium, U.K., Ireland, and Central and Other.