Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYK): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

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Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK) was in 56 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. LBTYK has experienced an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 28 hedge funds in our database with LBTYK positions at the end of the previous quarter.

LIBERTY GLOBAL PLC (NASDAQ:LBTYK)

In the financial world, there are many gauges investors can use to analyze their holdings. A pair of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top hedge fund managers can trounce the broader indices by a solid amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, positive insider trading activity is a second way to break down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of reasons for a corporate insider to downsize shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a gander at the recent action surrounding Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK).

How are hedge funds trading Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK)?

At Q1’s end, a total of 56 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 100% from one quarter earlier. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, SPO Advisory Corp, managed by John H. Scully, holds the most valuable position in Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK). SPO Advisory Corp has a $1.1552 billion position in the stock, comprising 15.6% of its 13F portfolio. On SPO Advisory Corp’s heels is Boykin Curry of Eagle Capital Management, with a $895.6 million position; the fund has 5.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that are bullish include Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan’s Tiger Global Management LLC, Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital and Wallace Weitz’s Wallace R. Weitz & Co..

Now, key money managers have jumped into Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK) headfirst. Valinor Management LLC, managed by David Gallo, established the biggest position in Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK). Valinor Management LLC had 95.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors also initiated a $94.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new LBTYK positions are William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management, James Crichton and Adam Weiss’s Scout Capital Management, and James Dinan’s York Capital Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is best served when the primary stock in question has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time period, Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also examine hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYK). These stocks are Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB), Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE:TWC), Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED), DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), and Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCA). All of these stocks are in the catv systems industry and their market caps are closest to LBTYK’s market cap.

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