JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised its price target on Verizon to $52 from $49 (maintaining a "neutral" rating), implying about an 8.3% upside from the prior close.
• The stock has a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average analyst target near $50.59 after several firms (RBC, Morgan Stanley, Evercore) lifted targets in recent weeks.
• Operationally Verizon beat Q1 EPS ($1.28 vs. $1.21) and raised FY2026 EPS guidance to $4.95–$4.99 amid ~55k net wireless adds, but revenue slightly missed estimates and rising post‑deal leverage plus recent insider selling remain investor risks.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the cell phone carrier's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.31% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded up $1.40 on Thursday, reaching $48.01. The company had a trading volume of 34,687,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,806,521. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.96 and a 200-day moving average of $43.97. The company has a market capitalization of $200.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Verizon Communications has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.79 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 4.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results: Verizon reported stronger-than-expected adjusted EPS and highlighted improving profitability and cash flow, which underpins the latest upward repricing and investor confidence. VZ Q1 Deep Dive
• Positive Sentiment: Subscriber momentum & guidance: Promotions and retention actions drove ~55k net wireless adds and Verizon raised FY26 profit guidance, signaling operational traction after prior churn issues. Verizon's promos lead to 55K new wireless subscribers
• Positive Sentiment: Management confidence: CEO and management have publicly framed Q1 as the start of a turnaround, which helps investor sentiment and supports multiple re-rating narratives. Verizon CEO Claims Turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation focus: Analysts and media are re-evaluating Verizon’s valuation after the Q1 beat and subscriber improvement; some see room for upside given stable free cash flow and an attractive dividend yield. A Look At Verizon Valuation After Strong Q1
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst tweaks: Erste Group marginally trimmed FY2027 EPS but kept a Strong-Buy stance — a small modeling tweak that doesn’t change the bullish analyst positioning. MarketBeat VZ
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner recognition: Verizon’s partner network continued to receive third‑party recognition (Cydcor award), a positive branding/partner-channel signal but unlikely to move near‑term fundamentals materially. Cydcor Earns Verizon's 2025 ACD Wireless Agent of the Year Award
• Negative Sentiment: Rising leverage risk: Commentary highlighting higher total debt after the Frontier deal remains a concern for income investors focused on dividend safety and credit metrics. The Ticking Time Bomb That Could Force Income Investors to Sell Verizon Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure: Rival wins and product moves from T‑Mobile and Comcast (and talent movement to smaller TaaS players) underscore ongoing competition that could constrain ARPU and net adds if Verizon eases promotions. T-Mobile Stock Rises on Earnings Beat Comcast drops 2 new phone plans
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss: Q1 revenue came in slightly below consensus even as EPS beat, so investors will watch whether top-line trends accelerate alongside margin gains. VZ Q1 Deep Dive

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc NYSE: VZ is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company's consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.

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