Liberty Global price target raised to $25 from $23 at Berenberg

Berenberg analyst Carl Murdock-Smith raised the firm’s price target on Liberty Global to $25 from $23 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The analyst believes Liberty Global “offers a case study on the use of buybacks.” It reduced its share count from 895M at the end of 2016 to 395M at its Q3 2023 results in October, and the firm forecasts it to fall below 300M in 2026, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While Liberty faces challenges in the form of greater fixed infrastructure competition, legacy TV and voice revenue declines, and higher interest rates, the impact “can be cushioned” by further synergy realization in the UK and Switzerland, and partial monetization of the Ventures portfolio and infrastructure assets, says Berenberg.