SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in SK Telecom fell 49.6% to 1.66 million shares as of September 30, representing 0.4% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.7.
• Shares declined 2.2% to $33.66, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.81, beating estimates of $0.59, despite revenue of $2.81 billion falling short of expectations.
• Several institutional investors initiated or expanded positions, and some analysts upgraded the stock; however, the overall analyst consensus remains “Reduce.”

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,655,786 shares, a drop of 49.6% from the September 15th total of 3,283,903 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 979,715 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

SK Telecom Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE SKM traded down $0.76 on Wednesday, hitting $33.66. 807,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,022,438. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94 and a beta of 0.72. SK Telecom has a 52-week low of $19.66 and a 52-week high of $47.18.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. SK Telecom had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 5.30%. Research analysts forecast that SK Telecom will post 2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of SK Telecom during the second quarter worth $42,869,000. BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of SK Telecom during the second quarter valued at $24,120,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of SK Telecom during the second quarter valued at $14,475,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SK Telecom during the second quarter valued at $14,459,000. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in shares of 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SKM. Zacks Research upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SK Telecom from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of SK Telecom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

SK Telecom Company Profile

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. is a South Korean telecommunications company and a member of the SK Group. Headquartered in Seoul, the company provides mobile communications services, including voice, messaging, wireless data, 5G connectivity and related subscription services, primarily in South Korea.

Through its affiliates and business operations, SK Telecom also offers fixed-line broadband internet, internet protocol television and media services. Its enterprise portfolio includes cloud computing, data center services, information and communication technology solutions, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things services for businesses and public-sector customers.

The company traces its origins to Korea Mobile Telecommunications, established in 1984, and adopted the SK Telecom name in 1998 following its incorporation into the SK Group.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.