VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded VEON from “buy” to “strong-buy.” Other analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $72.00 price target.
• VEON exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.69 in EPS versus the $1.46 consensus and revenue of $1.27 billion against estimates of $1.23 billion.
• The stock opened at $73.52, near its 52-week high of $75.00, while insiders and several institutional investors increased their holdings; institutional investors own 21.30% of the company.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on VEON. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of VEON in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of VEON in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Northland Securities began coverage on VEON in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded VEON from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

VEON Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VEON opened at $73.52 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.49 and a beta of 1.63. VEON has a 1 year low of $42.60 and a 1 year high of $75.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.23. VEON had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that VEON will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VEON news, Director K II bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.00 per share, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 91,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,096,000. The trade was a 19.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VEON during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in VEON by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of VEON by 7.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,400 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VEON by 64.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,597 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,967 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of VEON by 30.2% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,557 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 4,073 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.30% of the company's stock.

About VEON

VEON Ltd. NASDAQ: VEON is a global digital communications and services company that provides mobile connectivity, broadband, and digital products in high-growth markets. Its telecommunications operations serve consumers and businesses through mobile voice and data services, messaging, fixed broadband, and related connectivity solutions.

VEON operates through well-known local brands, including Kyivstar in Ukraine, Jazz in Pakistan, Banglalink in Bangladesh, and Beeline in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

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