Liberty Broadband Co. (NASDAQ:LBRDK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Liberty Broadband Co. (NASDAQ:LBRDK) experienced a notable increase in short interest during February. As of February 28th, the total short interest reached 4,120,000 shares, marking a substantial rise of 46.6% compared to the total of 2,810,000 shares reported on February 13th. Currently, approximately 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on the average daily trading volume of 901,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio stands at 4.6 days.

Liberty Broadband Stock Performance

On a recent trading day, shares of Liberty Broadband gained 2.9%, increasing by $2.29 to reach $81.38. During this session, 548,227 shares were traded, which is higher than the average volume of 869,394 shares. Over the past year, Liberty Broadband has recorded a low of $46.46 and a high of $101.50. The company has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, and a beta of 1.06. Liberty Broadband's debt-to-equity ratio is 0.40, with both its current and quick ratios at 2.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.45, and the 200-day moving average price is $78.63.

Recent Earnings Report

Liberty Broadband released its latest quarterly earnings data on February 27th, reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.04. This figure fell short of analysts' consensus estimates, which anticipated an EPS of $3.67, resulting in a difference of $1.63. The company’s revenue for the quarter amounted to $253 million, slightly exceeding the consensus estimate of $252.50 million. Liberty Broadband’s return on equity stood at 8.45%, with a net margin of 78.07%. Analysts expect the company to report an EPS of 7.71 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions

In other news, CEO Gregory B. Maffei sold 71,500 shares of the company on December 16th. This transaction was conducted at an average share price of $82.00, totaling $5,863,000. Following the sale, Maffei retains ownership of 2,827,013 shares, valued at approximately $231.82 million. This sale represents a 2.47% decrease in his holdings. The transaction was noted in a filing with the SEC. Overall, insiders hold about 10.80% of the company’s shares.

Institutional Holdings

Recent activity among hedge funds indicates a growing interest in Liberty Broadband. For example, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, owning 11,064,423 shares worth approximately $827 million after acquiring an additional 95,599 shares. Barclays PLC expanded its position by 6.4% in the third quarter, owning 6,899,331 shares valued at $533 million after buying 415,496 shares. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, now holding 3,585,407 shares valued at around $268 million. Deutsche Bank AG significantly increased its position by 125.6%, acquiring 3,060,143 shares worth $228 million due to an additional purchase of 1,703,637 shares. Lastly, Finepoint Capital LP raised its stake by 1.1%, owning 2,015,710 shares valued at $150.69 million. In total, hedge funds and institutional investors own about 80.22% of Liberty Broadband's shares.

Analyst Ratings Update

In a separate development, StockNews.com commenced coverage on Liberty Broadband in a recent research report, assigning a "sell" rating on the stock.

Company Overview

Liberty Broadband Corporation is involved in the communications sector. Its GCI Holdings segment provides a variety of services such as data, wireless, video, voice, and managed services to residential customers, businesses, government entities, and educational and medical institutions in Alaska under the GCI brand.

Liberty, Broadband, Stocks