VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $50.00, but opened at $53.41. VEON shares last traded at $56.17, with a volume of 59,953 shares traded.

The Wireless communications provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.40. VEON had a return on equity of 47.86% and a net margin of 12.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VEON shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $74.00 price objective on shares of VEON and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VEON in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of VEON from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of VEON from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Institutional Trading of VEON

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its position in shares of VEON by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 35,457 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 11,129 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of VEON by 43.0% in the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,497 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 9,168 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of VEON by 14.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in VEON by 30.2% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,557 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 4,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in VEON by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 977,400 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $51,382,000 after purchasing an additional 390,294 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

VEON Trading Up 10.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.51.

About VEON

VEON Ltd (NASDAQ: VEON) is a global telecommunications and digital services provider headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Originally founded as VimpelCom in Russia in 1992, the company rebranded to VEON in 2017 to reflect its transformation into a technology-driven operator. VEON operates as a holding company with direct investments in mobile and internet service providers across multiple emerging markets, delivering voice, data and digital services to individual and enterprise customers.

Through its operating subsidiaries, VEON offers a broad portfolio that includes 2G/3G/4G mobile access, fixed broadband, digital lifestyle applications and mobile financial services.