VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of VEON in a research note on Monday, June 16th.

VEON Price Performance

NASDAQ:VEON traded up $2.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.33. 221,869 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 104,919. The company has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.51. VEON has a 1 year low of $25.38 and a 1 year high of $58.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $47.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $996.00 million. VEON had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 36.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VEON

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in VEON by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 720 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in VEON by 21.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,613 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in VEON by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,322 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of VEON in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of VEON by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 117,808 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $4,724,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. 21.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VEON Company Profile

VEON Ltd., a digital operator, provides connectivity and internet services in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It offers mobile telecommunications services, including value added and call completion, national and international roaming, wireless Internet access, mobile financial, and mobile bundle services; data connectivity, cross border transit, voice, Internet, and data services; fixed-line telecommunications using intercity fiber optic networks; and Internet-TV using Fiber to the building technology.