SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 83.1% in September

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) saw a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,283,903 shares, an increase of 83.1% from the August 31st total of 1,793,955 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,577,633 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SKM. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of SK Telecom during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,065,000. ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its holdings in shares of SK Telecom by 136.8% in the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 568,343 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $16,647,000 after acquiring an additional 328,300 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SK Telecom during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,511,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in SK Telecom during the second quarter worth $965,000. Finally, Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 80.6% during the 1st quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 223,557 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $6,513,000 after purchasing an additional 99,741 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SKM has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of SK Telecom from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce”.

SK Telecom Stock Down 2.7%

SKM stock traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.94. 857,697 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,178,559. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $36.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.44. SK Telecom has a 52 week low of $19.66 and a 52 week high of $47.18. The company has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 0.67.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.22. SK Telecom had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 5.30%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that SK Telecom will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. is a South Korean telecommunications company and a member of the SK Group. Headquartered in Seoul, the company provides mobile communications services, including voice, messaging, wireless data, 5G connectivity and related subscription services, primarily in South Korea.

Through its affiliates and business operations, SK Telecom also offers fixed-line broadband internet, internet protocol television and media services. Its enterprise portfolio includes cloud computing, data center services, information and communication technology solutions, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things services for businesses and public-sector customers.

The company traces its origins to Korea Mobile Telecommunications, established in 1984, and adopted the SK Telecom name in 1998 following its incorporation into the SK Group.