Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Key Points

• Ericsson has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings reported earnings per share of $0.16, exceeding expectations, but revenue fell 9% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors have shown increased interest in Ericsson, with notable stakes acquired by firms such as Allspring Global and Northern Trust Corp during the first quarter.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Wednesday. Danske lowered Ericsson to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra Research upgraded Ericsson to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Ericsson to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ericsson currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $9.80.

Ericsson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ERIC opened at $9.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ericsson has a 1-year low of $6.64 and a 1-year high of $9.87.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $57.16 billion. Ericsson had a return on equity of 21.50% and a net margin of 10.44%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ericsson will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ericsson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 498,887 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $3,732,000 after purchasing an additional 48,692 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 87,313,506 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $677,498,000 after purchasing an additional 482,691 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ericsson by 106.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,659,696 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $28,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ericsson by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 282,000 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 29,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

About Ericsson

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile connectivity solutions for telcom operators and enterprise customers in various sectors in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, and India. It operates in four segments: Networks; Cloud Software and Services; Enterprise; and Other.

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