Short Interest in Liberty Broadband Co. (NASDAQ:LBRDA) Rises By 29.2%

Liberty Broadband Co. (NASDAQ:LBRDA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 148,200 shares, a growth of 29.2% from the December 31st total of 114,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 188,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Liberty Broadband

In related news, CEO Gregory B. Maffei sold 125,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.74, for a total value of $9,967,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,435,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,447,313.44. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 196,542 shares of company stock valued at $15,834,108 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 14.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Liberty Broadband

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Liberty Broadband in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Liberty Broadband in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Liberty Broadband by 161.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Liberty Broadband in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Liberty Broadband by 116.6% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 10.29% of the company’s stock.

Liberty Broadband Stock Performance

Shares of Liberty Broadband stock traded down $5.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $73.96. 157,546 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 121,818. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.94 and its 200 day moving average is $73.67. The stock has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.07. Liberty Broadband has a 12 month low of $47.17 and a 12 month high of $100.44.

Liberty Broadband (NASDAQ:LBRDA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.66). The firm had revenue of $262.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.40 million. Liberty Broadband had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 78.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LBRDA. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Liberty Broadband from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $91.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Liberty Broadband in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Liberty Broadband Company Profile

Liberty Broadband Corporation engages in the communications businesses. The company’s GCI Holdings segment provides data, wireless, video, voice, and managed services to residential customers, businesses, governmental entities, educational, and medical institutions in Alaska under the GCI brand. Its Charter segment offers subscription-based Internet and video services, and mobile and voice services; and state-of-the-art residential and business services, which includes Spectrum Internet, TV, mobile and voice for small and medium-sized companies; Spectrum Business provides a suite of broadband products and services for businesses and government application; Spectrum Enterprise offers customized fiber-based solutions; Spectrum Reach provides advertising and production for the modern media landscape.