VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Unusually-high trading volume: VEON traded about 88,135 shares (up 14% from the prior session) while the stock fell to $47.50 from a $53.28 close, roughly an 11% decline.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60, following recent upgrades (Zacks to Hold, Wall Street Zen to Buy); current ratings include one Strong Buy, one Buy and two Holds.
• The board has authorized a share buyback program and several institutional investors—most notably Wellington Management—substantially increased stakes, which may signal investor confidence despite the company’s elevated debt-to-equity ratio (~2.45).

VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 88,135 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 14% from the previous session's volume of 77,474 shares.The stock last traded at $47.50 and had previously closed at $53.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VEON shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of VEON in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded VEON from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of VEON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

VEON Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.88 and a 200-day moving average of $52.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45.

VEON declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, November 17th that allows the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the Wireless communications provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VEON

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dorsey Wright & Associates raised its stake in VEON by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 24,328 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in VEON by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 977,400 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $51,382,000 after acquiring an additional 390,294 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of VEON by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 136,701 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $7,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,223 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of VEON during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,608,000. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in shares of VEON during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,103,000. Institutional investors own 21.30% of the company's stock.

About VEON

VEON Ltd NASDAQ: VEON is a global telecommunications and digital services provider headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Originally founded as VimpelCom in Russia in 1992, the company rebranded to VEON in 2017 to reflect its transformation into a technology-driven operator. VEON operates as a holding company with direct investments in mobile and internet service providers across multiple emerging markets, delivering voice, data and digital services to individual and enterprise customers.

Through its operating subsidiaries, VEON offers a broad portfolio that includes 2G/3G/4G mobile access, fixed broadband, digital lifestyle applications and mobile financial services.

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