SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• SK Telecom shares jumped 7.9%, opening at $35.50 versus the prior close of $32.24, amid trading volume of about 463,000 shares.
• Analyst sentiment improved among several firms, including JPMorgan upgrading the stock to “overweight” and Wall Street Zen to “buy,” though MarketBeat’s overall consensus remains “Reduce.”
• In its latest quarterly report, SK Telecom beat earnings expectations with $0.57 in EPS versus a $0.47 estimate, while revenue of $2.92 billion fell short of the $2.98 billion consensus forecast.

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.24, but opened at $35.50. SK Telecom shares last traded at $35.0650, with a volume of 463,167 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SKM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised SK Telecom from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered SK Telecom from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SK Telecom from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SK Telecom from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of SK Telecom from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

SK Telecom Stock Up 7.9%

The firm has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.92 and a 200-day moving average of $32.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. SK Telecom had a return on equity of 2.78% and a net margin of 2.03%.The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SK Telecom

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SK Telecom in the 1st quarter worth $9,065,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in SK Telecom during the first quarter valued at about $3,511,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in SK Telecom by 136.8% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 568,343 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $16,647,000 after acquiring an additional 328,300 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in SK Telecom by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 221,300 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $4,543,000 after acquiring an additional 34,100 shares during the period. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its position in SK Telecom by 80.6% in the first quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 223,557 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $6,513,000 after acquiring an additional 99,741 shares in the last quarter.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. NYSE: SKM is South Korea's largest wireless carrier, offering a comprehensive range of mobile telecommunications services. The company operates 5G, 4G LTE and IoT networks, providing voice, data and messaging solutions to consumers and businesses. Beyond traditional wireless services, SK Telecom delivers fixed-line broadband, digital content platforms, cloud computing and cybersecurity offerings designed to support enterprise digital transformation and the growing demand for high-speed connectivity.

Established in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications Services, SK Telecom pioneered cellular service commercialization in South Korea and has continually expanded into new technology areas.

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