VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $44.31, but opened at $52.00. VEON shares last traded at $50.79, with a volume of 438,896 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VEON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VEON in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VEON from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of VEON in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VEON from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

VEON Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.56.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) last released its earnings results on Friday, March 13th. The Wireless communications provider reported ($1.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($2.91). VEON had a return on equity of 58.72% and a net margin of 15.26%.The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion.

VEON declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the Wireless communications provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of VEON

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in VEON by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of VEON by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,431 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Samson Rock Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of VEON in the second quarter worth about $138,000. Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of VEON in the third quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VEON in the third quarter worth about $208,000. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.