Is Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) ready to rally soon? Prominent investors are buying. The number of long hedge fund bets increased by 26 recently.
To the average investor, there are plenty of metrics shareholders can use to watch their holdings. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a healthy amount (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are many incentives for an insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action regarding Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA).
Hedge fund activity in Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA)
Heading into Q2, a total of 75 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 53% from the first quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management had the biggest position in Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA), worth close to $520.8 million, comprising 6.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Blue Ridge Capital, managed by John Griffin, which held a $286.2 million position; the fund has 3.6% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that hold long positions include Eric Mindich’s Eton Park Capital, Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital and Peter Adam Hochfelder’s Brahman Capital.
As one would reasonably expect, some big names were breaking ground themselves. Corvex Capital, managed by Keith Meister, established the most valuable position in Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA). Corvex Capital had 84.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Rob Citrone’s Discovery Capital Management also made a $78.2 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new LBTYA positions are Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments, William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management, and John Thaler’s JAT Capital Management.
What have insiders been doing with Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA)?
Insider purchases made by high-level executives is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time period, Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ:LBTYA) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, 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:LBTYA). 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). This group of stocks belong to the catv systems industry and their market caps are similar to LBTYA’s market cap.
