VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 88,135 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 77,474 shares.The stock last traded at $47.50 and had previously closed at $53.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VEON shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of VEON in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of VEON from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of VEON from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.00.

VEON Stock Down 12.5%

The company has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45.

VEON announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase 0 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the Wireless communications provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of VEON

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VEON by 36.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in VEON by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,431 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Samson Rock Capital LLP acquired a new stake in VEON in the second quarter worth approximately $138,000. Truist Financial Corp bought a new position in VEON during the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new position in VEON during the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About VEON

VEON Ltd (NASDAQ: VEON) is a global telecommunications and digital services provider headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Originally founded as VimpelCom in Russia in 1992, the company rebranded to VEON in 2017 to reflect its transformation into a technology-driven operator. VEON operates as a holding company with direct investments in mobile and internet service providers across multiple emerging markets, delivering voice, data and digital services to individual and enterprise customers.

Through its operating subsidiaries, VEON offers a broad portfolio that includes 2G/3G/4G mobile access, fixed broadband, digital lifestyle applications and mobile financial services.