SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.24, but opened at $35.50. SK Telecom shares last traded at $35.0650, with a volume of 463,167 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SKM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded SK Telecom from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

SK Telecom Stock Up 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.81 and a 200 day moving average of $33.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. SK Telecom had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 2.78%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SKM. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of SK Telecom by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 25,371 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SK Telecom by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 27,553 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of SK Telecom by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,732 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its position in shares of SK Telecom by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 14,397 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matthews International Capital Management LLC raised its stake in SK Telecom by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 2,491 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) is South Korea’s largest wireless carrier, offering a comprehensive range of mobile telecommunications services. The company operates 5G, 4G LTE and IoT networks, providing voice, data and messaging solutions to consumers and businesses. Beyond traditional wireless services, SK Telecom delivers fixed-line broadband, digital content platforms, cloud computing and cybersecurity offerings designed to support enterprise digital transformation and the growing demand for high-speed connectivity.

Established in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications Services, SK Telecom pioneered cellular service commercialization in South Korea and has continually expanded into new technology areas.