VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $40.51, but opened at $41.60. VEON shares last traded at $41.01, with a volume of 9,453 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of VEON from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

VEON Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.31.

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, December 13th. The Wireless communications provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. VEON had a negative net margin of 81.71% and a positive return on equity of 36.48%.

Institutional Trading of VEON

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lingotto Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of VEON by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 5,740,438 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $230,192,000 after buying an additional 159,714 shares during the period. Helikon Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in VEON by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Helikon Investments Ltd now owns 2,927,104 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $117,377,000 after purchasing an additional 138,149 shares in the last quarter. Diameter Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in VEON in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,161,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in VEON by 13.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 248,758 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $7,567,000 after purchasing an additional 29,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of VEON by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 117,808 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,724,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512 shares during the period. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VEON

VEON Ltd., a digital operator, provides connectivity and internet services in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It offers mobile telecommunications services, including value added and call completion, national and international roaming, wireless Internet access, mobile financial, and mobile bundle services; data connectivity, cross border transit, voice, Internet, and data services; fixed-line telecommunications using intercity fiber optic networks; and Internet-TV using Fiber to the building technology.