Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyLiberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ:LILA – Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . Approximately 514,313 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 388,048 shares.The stock last traded at $4.9650 and had previously closed at $4.80.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Liberty Latin America in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Liberty Latin America has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.00.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on LILA
Liberty Latin America Trading Up 12.7%
The company’s 50-day moving average is $7.67 and its 200 day moving average is $7.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.74. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -2.40 and a beta of 0.74.
Liberty Latin America (NASDAQ:LILA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.14). Liberty Latin America had a negative return on equity of 45.66% and a negative net margin of 11.20%.The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Liberty Latin America Ltd. will post -0.22 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity
In other Liberty Latin America news, Director John C. Malone purchased 12,406,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.63 per share, for a total transaction of $107,067,775.69. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 21,173,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,723,145.34. This represents a 141.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Balan Nair purchased 164,914 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.07 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,027.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,276,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,890,163.86. This trade represents a 5.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 12,691,377 shares of company stock worth $108,718,204. 6.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Latin America
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty Latin America by 93.0% during the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 3,750,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,806,935 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Liberty Latin America by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,445,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,074,000 after buying an additional 78,234 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in Liberty Latin America by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 1,411,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,704,000 after buying an additional 484,016 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Liberty Latin America by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,166,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,674,000 after buying an additional 39,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Liberty Latin America by 318.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 940,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,948,000 after buying an additional 715,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.48% of the company’s stock.
About Liberty Latin America
Liberty Latin America is a telecommunications company that provides video, broadband internet, telephony and mobile services across Latin America and the Caribbean. The company’s operations span consumer and business markets, offering cable television packages, high-speed broadband connections, fixed-line voice services and wireless data plans. Through its brands, including Flow in several Caribbean territories and VTR in Chile, Liberty Latin America focuses on delivering converged digital solutions designed to meet both residential and enterprise needs.
Formed in 2018 as a spin-off from Liberty Global, Liberty Latin America built its initial footprint by integrating legacy assets acquired from Cable & Wireless Communications and Columbus Communications.