VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Stock Price Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON)’s stock price was up 5.3% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $79.23 and last traded at $79.17. Approximately 99,318 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 115,796 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on VEON shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded VEON from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Northland Securities set a $85.00 target price on shares of VEON and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of VEON from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of VEON from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of VEON in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VEON has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.33.

VEON Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.95. The company has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.13, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.94. VEON had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that VEON Ltd. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VEON

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VEON. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of VEON in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of VEON during the second quarter worth about $170,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in VEON in the third quarter valued at about $243,000. R Squared Ltd lifted its position in VEON by 2.6% in the third quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 6,110 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in VEON by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,400 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.30% of the company’s stock.

VEON Company Profile

VEON Ltd. is an international telecommunications and digital services company that provides mobile and fixed connectivity, along with consumer and business services. Its offerings include voice and data plans, broadband, digital payments, entertainment, and other services delivered through its networks and digital platforms. The company serves customers in Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan through local operating companies and brands, including Banglalink, Jazz, Kyivstar, and Beeline.