Millicom International Cellular Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:TIGO)

Key Points

• Traders purchased an unusually large number of call options — 25,986 calls on Tuesday, roughly a 3,275% jump versus the typical 770, indicating heavy bullish speculation on TIGO.
• Millicom shares rose to $81.18 (near a 12‑month high of $82.10) after reporting a strong quarter with EPS $1.50 vs. $1.05 expected and revenue of $1.65 billion, up 15.7% year‑over‑year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 (annualized $3.00, yield 3.7%), while institutional buying (including Goldman Sachs and UBS) and several analyst upgrades contrast with a MarketBeat consensus rating of Hold and a $65.64 price target.

Millicom International Cellular SA (NASDAQ:TIGO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 25,986 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 3,275% compared to the typical volume of 770 call options.

Millicom International Cellular Stock Performance

NASDAQ TIGO traded up $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,132,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,362,201. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.87. Millicom International Cellular has a twelve month low of $26.35 and a twelve month high of $82.10. The business's fifty day moving average price is $69.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.86.

Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Millicom International Cellular had a net margin of 22.62% and a return on equity of 17.07%. Millicom International Cellular's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Millicom International Cellular will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Millicom International Cellular Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 8th. Millicom International Cellular's payout ratio is 38.22%.

Institutional Trading of Millicom International Cellular

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TIGO. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Millicom International Cellular by 48.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 46,183 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,398,000 after buying an additional 14,990 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Millicom International Cellular by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,587 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in Millicom International Cellular in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,188,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Millicom International Cellular during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,664,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Millicom International Cellular during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,504,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on TIGO. HSBC raised shares of Millicom International Cellular from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Millicom International Cellular from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "positive" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Millicom International Cellular in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Millicom International Cellular from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Millicom International Cellular from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Millicom International Cellular currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.64.

Millicom International Cellular Company Profile

Millicom International Cellular SA, trading under the TIGO brand, is a Luxembourg‐headquartered telecommunications and media company that provides a range of mobile, cable broadband, digital television and enterprise services. Through its integrated infrastructure, the company delivers voice and data connectivity, high‐speed internet access and pay‐television packages to millions of customers, supported by ongoing investments in network coverage and capacity.

Established in 1990 by Swedish investor Jan Stenbeck, Millicom has grown into a multi‐regional operator focused primarily on Central and South America.

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