VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Sets New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• VEON reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $85.87 and last changing hands near $85.10, up 1.5% with a $6.35 billion market capitalization.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and one rates it Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $90.33 price target. Cantor Fitzgerald set the highest target at $112.
• VEON exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.69 in earnings per share versus a $1.46 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.27 billion compared with $1.23 billion expected. A company director also purchased 15,000 shares, while institutional investors own 21.3% of the stock.

VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $85.87 and last traded at $85.1040, with a volume of 10,316 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VEON shares. Wall Street Zen cut VEON from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Northland Securities set a $85.00 target price on VEON and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on VEON in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded VEON from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised VEON from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.33.

VEON Trading Up 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 100.95 and a beta of 1.62. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. VEON had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 14.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that VEON Ltd. will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at VEON

In other VEON news, Director K II acquired 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.00 per share, for a total transaction of $840,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 91,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,096,000. The trade was a 19.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of VEON

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VEON. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in VEON during the second quarter valued at $170,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in VEON by 14.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in VEON during the third quarter worth $243,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VEON by 64.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,597 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,967 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of VEON by 7.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,400 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.30% of the company's stock.

About VEON

VEON Ltd. is a global digital communications and services company that provides mobile connectivity, fixed broadband, and digital products to consumers and businesses. The company operates through a portfolio of local telecommunications brands, offering voice and messaging services, mobile data, broadband access, and related enterprise solutions.

VEON's principal operating brands include Kyivstar in Ukraine, Jazz in Pakistan, Banglalink in Bangladesh, and Beeline-branded businesses in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

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