SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $37.34, but opened at $40.60. SK Telecom shares last traded at $41.3430, with a volume of 1,429,542 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC raised SK Telecom from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America lowered shares of SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of SK Telecom from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of SK Telecom from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

SK Telecom Stock Up 10.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a PE ratio of 68.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.60.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.10. SK Telecom had a return on equity of 2.84% and a net margin of 2.03%.The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of SK Telecom by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,462,769 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $50,561,000 after purchasing an additional 374,428 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,253,677 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $48,679,000 after buying an additional 60,242 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in SK Telecom by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,117,361 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $22,939,000 after buying an additional 12,672 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in SK Telecom by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 923,579 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $18,961,000 after buying an additional 12,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in SK Telecom by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 886,930 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $19,158,000 after buying an additional 77,763 shares in the last quarter.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) is South Korea’s largest wireless carrier, offering a comprehensive range of mobile telecommunications services. The company operates 5G, 4G LTE and IoT networks, providing voice, data and messaging solutions to consumers and businesses. Beyond traditional wireless services, SK Telecom delivers fixed-line broadband, digital content platforms, cloud computing and cybersecurity offerings designed to support enterprise digital transformation and the growing demand for high-speed connectivity.

Established in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications Services, SK Telecom pioneered cellular service commercialization in South Korea and has continually expanded into new technology areas.