Kovack Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC)

Key Points

• Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Ericsson by 83.5% during Q1, selling 68,300 shares and retaining only 13,457 shares valued at $104,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. and Wallace Advisory Group LLC, have recently acquired new stakes in Ericsson, indicating a shift in investor sentiment.
• Ericsson reported earnings of $0.14 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates, but revenue decreased by 6.2% year-over-year, totaling $5.84 billion.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC - Free Report) by 83.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,457 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after selling 68,300 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ericsson were worth $104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Ericsson by 0.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 158,085 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ericsson by 9.5% in the first quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,476 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Ericsson by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,713 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ericsson by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,122 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Ericsson by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 17,328 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 2,313 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ERIC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ericsson from $8.90 to $9.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ericsson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets raised Ericsson from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Ericsson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ERIC traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $7.27. 5,330,580 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,168,795. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $8.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.09. Ericsson has a one year low of $6.41 and a one year high of $8.99. The firm has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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

Ericsson Profile

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.