ABC Arbitrage SA Makes New $24.15 Million Investment in Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC)

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a significant stake in Ericsson, purchasing 3,111,626 shares worth approximately $24.15 million, making it the firm's largest holding at around 4.5% of their portfolio.
• Ericsson's stock price opened at $7.39 with a market capitalization of $24.74 billion and a P/E ratio of 14.78; the company reported earnings that slightly exceeded expectations but showed a 6.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Ericsson's rating, with JPMorgan Chase raising its price target from $8.90 to $9.80 and upgrading its stance to "neutral."

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,111,626 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,146,000. Ericsson accounts for 4.5% of ABC Arbitrage SA's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. ABC Arbitrage SA owned 0.09% of Ericsson as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ericsson by 401.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 13,607,012 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $109,673,000 after purchasing an additional 10,891,451 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Ericsson by 234.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,744,940 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $54,364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,729,207 shares during the period. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ericsson by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 6,382,140 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $51,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,386 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Ericsson by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,463,200 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $19,853,000 after acquiring an additional 431,300 shares during the period. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Ericsson by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 2,257,459 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $18,195,000 after purchasing an additional 383,463 shares in the last quarter. 7.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ericsson Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ERIC traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $7.39. 7,792,250 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,295,488. Ericsson has a 52 week low of $6.56 and a 52 week high of $8.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.06. The company has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.85.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Ericsson had a return on equity of 21.17% and a net margin of 7.06%. The company had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($3.34) earnings per share. Ericsson's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ericsson will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded Ericsson from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ericsson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ericsson from $8.90 to $9.80 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

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.