VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded VEON from “strong sell” to “hold,” while analysts overall maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $72.
• VEON shares opened at $54.52 and were up 0.4%, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.03 billion and a 52-week range of $42.60 to $64.00.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.69 in earnings per share versus the $1.46 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.27 billion versus $1.23 billion expected; institutional investors own 21.3% of the stock.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on VEON. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $74.00 target price on VEON and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered VEON from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of VEON in a report on Monday, June 15th. Northland Securities began coverage on shares of VEON in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded VEON from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VEON presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.00.

VEON Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:VEON opened at $54.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.14 and a beta of 1.65. VEON has a 52 week low of $42.60 and a 52 week high of $64.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.33 and a 200 day moving average of $52.40.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The Wireless communications provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.23. VEON had a return on equity of 14.93% and a net margin of 1.24%.The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that VEON will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VEON

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 390,294 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of VEON in the third quarter valued at about $15,005,000. Panview Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of VEON by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Panview Capital Ltd now owns 514,927 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $27,070,000 after buying an additional 101,906 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of VEON by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 225,643 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $11,862,000 after buying an additional 98,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in VEON by 275.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 133,478 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $7,265,000 after acquiring an additional 97,913 shares in the last quarter. 21.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VEON Company Profile

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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