BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd Makes New Investment in SK Telecom Co., Ltd. $SKM

Key Points

• BlueCrest Capital Management bought 750,000 SK Telecom shares worth approximately $24.1 million, making the position about 0.8% of its portfolio and giving it roughly 0.20% ownership of SKM.
• Several institutional investors increased or initiated positions, including Nykredit, Baird Financial, Millennium Management, ABN Amro, and JPMorgan Chase.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with SK Telecom carrying a consensus “Reduce” rating. The company nevertheless exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.81 versus the $0.59 estimate, while revenue fell short of forecasts.

BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 750,000 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,120,000. SK Telecom makes up about 0.8% of BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd owned approximately 0.20% of SK Telecom at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SKM. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of SK Telecom in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,475,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in SK Telecom in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,459,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in SK Telecom by 202.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 606,347 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $12,448,000 after acquiring an additional 405,863 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in SK Telecom by 136.8% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 568,343 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $16,647,000 after purchasing an additional 328,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of SK Telecom by 80,378.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 328,353 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $6,741,000 after purchasing an additional 327,945 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded SK Telecom from a "strong-buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SK Telecom from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised SK Telecom from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded SK Telecom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

SK Telecom Trading Down 2.8%

SKM stock opened at $37.36 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $35.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. SK Telecom Co., Ltd. has a 52-week low of $19.66 and a 52-week high of $47.18. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89 and a beta of 0.67.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. SK Telecom had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 5.59%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. NYSE: SKM is South Korea's largest wireless carrier, offering a comprehensive range of mobile telecommunications services. The company operates 5G, 4G LTE and IoT networks, providing voice, data and messaging solutions to consumers and businesses. Beyond traditional wireless services, SK Telecom delivers fixed-line broadband, digital content platforms, cloud computing and cybersecurity offerings designed to support enterprise digital transformation and the growing demand for high-speed connectivity.

Established in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications Services, SK Telecom pioneered cellular service commercialization in South Korea and has continually expanded into new technology areas.

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