Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,370,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the August 15th total of 18,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ERIC traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.50. The stock had a trading volume of 5,890,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,722,113. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.14. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a 1-year low of $4.33 and a 1-year high of $7.51.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.04). Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a negative net margin of 14.13% and a positive return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.29 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 131.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,464 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 3,101 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. BOKF NA acquired a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 258.1% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,744 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 7,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. 7.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $5.58 to $5.90 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.90.

About Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile connectivity solutions for telcom operators and enterprise customers in various sectors in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, and India. It operates in four segments: Networks; Cloud Software and Services; Enterprise; and Other.