Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.91, but opened at $5.01. Telefónica shares last traded at $5.00, with a volume of 90,301 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Telefónica in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut Telefónica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telefónica has an average rating of “Hold”.

Telefónica Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.25 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.77 and a 200-day moving average of $4.44.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.08. Telefónica had a negative net margin of 2.84% and a positive return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.06 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Telefónica, S.A. will post 0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TEF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Telefónica by 293.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 26,410 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Telefónica by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 4,252 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Telefónica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Telefónica by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Telefónica by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 151,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 15,343 shares during the period. 1.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Telefónica

Telefónica, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company offers mobile and related services and products, such as mobile voice, value added, mobile data and internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services.