Vodafone Group Public (NASDAQ:VOD) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $9.12, but opened at $9.46. Vodafone Group Public shares last traded at $9.34, with a volume of 1,094,496 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VOD. Bank of America downgraded Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vodafone Group Public by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,881 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group Public by 258.0% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 3,733 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 509.7% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 5,709 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 912.9% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 7,212 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 627.3% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 9,651 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 8,324 shares during the last quarter. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vodafone Group Public

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.