Investors Buy Large Volume of Ericsson Call Options (NASDAQ:ERIC)

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 2,734 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the average daily volume of 1,807 call options.

Ericsson Stock Performance

Ericsson stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.55. The company had a trading volume of 15,878,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,451,336. Ericsson has a 52 week low of $9.03 and a 52 week high of $13.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Ericsson had a return on equity of 21.03% and a net margin of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $5.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Ericsson’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ericsson will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ericsson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 29th were given a $0.1579 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 29th. Ericsson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Ericsson from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Danske downgraded shares of Ericsson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ericsson from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ericsson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ericsson from $11.40 to $10.20 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Ericsson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ericsson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations. Ericsson reported approximately 7% organic sales growth, driven by its Networks business, while adjusted gross margin reached 47.7%. Earnings of $0.18 per share surpassed the $0.14 consensus estimate, supporting the sharp rally following the report. Why Ericsson Stock Soared Today
• Positive Sentiment: Networks demand remains a key growth driver. Reported sales rose about 6% year over year to SEK 59.5 billion, with the Networks segment posting roughly 9% organic growth. This indicates continued customer spending on mobile-network infrastructure. Ericsson shares gain after 7% organic sales growth
• Positive Sentiment: Ericsson and Verizon completed a notable 6G milestone. The companies conducted what they described as the first outdoor pre-standard 6G field call in the 7 GHz band at a commercial site in California. The test provides long-term validation of Ericsson’s technology, although 6G is still years from meaningful revenue contribution. Verizon and Ericsson Accelerate 6G Development
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is simplifying the organization. Ericsson will combine parts of its Asia-Pacific operations and redistribute its Enterprise Wireless Solutions portfolio to improve efficiency, leverage research and development, and capture synergies. The changes may reduce costs but also involve executive transitions and portfolio disruption. Ericsson announces simplification of Group structure
• Negative Sentiment: Higher component costs are the main near-term concern. AI-related demand is raising chip and equipment costs, creating a margin headwind next year. Ericsson expects to pursue structural customer price increases in 2027, but investors may question how quickly those increases can offset inflation without hurting demand. Ericsson braces for component cost hit

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ericsson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ERIC. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Ericsson in the second quarter worth about $15,812,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Ericsson by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 160,581 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 12,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Ericsson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $493,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company’s stock.

About Ericsson

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish telecommunications and technology company that provides communications infrastructure, software, and related services to telecommunications operators and enterprises worldwide. The company was founded in 1876 by Lars Magnus Ericsson and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

Ericsson’s offerings include mobile network equipment and services for 4G and 5G networks, radio access systems, core networks, transport solutions, and network management software.