Telefónica (NYSE:TEF) Shares Gap Up to $4.45

Telefónica, S.A. (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $4.45, but opened at $4.54. Telefónica shares last traded at $4.55, with a volume of 81,814 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Telefónica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday.

Telefónica Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $26.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.38 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $4.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.16.

Telefónica (NYSE:TEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. Telefónica had a negative net margin of 1.57% and a positive return on equity of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $10.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Telefónica, S.A. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefónica

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Telefónica by 5.8% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 52,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 2,837 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Telefónica by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 268,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,507 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Telefónica by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 113,504 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 10,859 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Telefónica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Telefónica by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 110,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 16,311 shares during the last quarter. 1.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Telefónica Company Profile

Telefónica, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company offers mobile and related services and products, such as mobile voice, value added, mobile data and internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services.