Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $8.31, but opened at $8.05. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) shares last traded at $7.97, with a volume of 2,422,177 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ERIC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $5.90 to $6.70 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.70.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -266.83 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.97.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.73 billion. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a negative net margin of 0.47% and a positive return on equity of 13.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 190,065 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 8,086 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 176.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 188,231 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 120,072 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 1,260.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 630,541 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 584,201 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 415.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 181,305 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 146,141 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,545,000. 7.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile connectivity solutions for telcom operators and enterprise customers in various sectors in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, and India. It operates in four segments: Networks; Cloud Software and Services; Enterprise; and Other.