Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:ERIC)

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 4,293 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 248% compared to the average volume of 1,233 call options.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Price Performance

ERIC opened at $7.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.73. The firm has a market cap of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -257.67 and a beta of 0.79. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a 1 year low of $4.77 and a 1 year high of $8.90.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.04). Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a positive return on equity of 13.31% and a negative net margin of 0.47%. As a group, analysts predict that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 13.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 161,719 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 19,562 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,898,019 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $11,711,000 after buying an additional 535,933 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,027,000. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the second quarter valued at approximately $592,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,896,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ERIC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $5.90 to $6.70 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com cut Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

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.