Ericsson Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:ERIC)

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 2,369 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 55% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,531 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ericsson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ERIC. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ericsson in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Ericsson by 72.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 10,276 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Ericsson by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 13,017 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ericsson in the first quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ericsson by 57.2% in the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 20,485 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

Ericsson Stock Up 4.4%

Ericsson stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.16. The stock had a trading volume of 10,140,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,903,354. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.79. Ericsson has a 12 month low of $6.64 and a 12 month high of $11.17. The stock has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ERIC shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Ericsson in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ericsson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Argus raised Ericsson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ericsson in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Ericsson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ericsson presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.80.

About Ericsson

Ericsson AB is a Swedish multinational telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Stockholm. Founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson, the company designs, develops and sells infrastructure, software and services that enable mobile and fixed-line networks worldwide. Ericsson serves a global customer base that includes mobile network operators, enterprise customers and public-sector organizations across Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.

The company’s core activities center on building and modernizing network infrastructure, with a particular focus on radio access networks (RAN), core network software, cloud-native solutions and network management systems.