SK Telecom Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SKM)

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 12,372 call options on the company. This is an increase of 118% compared to the average volume of 5,671 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SKM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. HSBC upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of SK Telecom from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SK Telecom in the first quarter worth approximately $9,065,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its position in SK Telecom by 136.8% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 568,343 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $16,647,000 after purchasing an additional 328,300 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in SK Telecom in the first quarter valued at $3,511,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 221,300 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,543,000 after purchasing an additional 34,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 80.6% in the 1st quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 223,557 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $6,513,000 after purchasing an additional 99,741 shares during the last quarter.

SK Telecom Trading Up 4.9%

NYSE SKM traded up $1.71 on Thursday, reaching $36.76. 352,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,176,915. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38 and a beta of 0.64. SK Telecom has a fifty-two week low of $19.66 and a fifty-two week high of $47.18.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.22. SK Telecom had a return on equity of 5.59% and a net margin of 4.23%.The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Analysts forecast that SK Telecom will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.