Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Evercore ISI from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price suggests a potential upside of 7.89% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $46.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,504,150,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages lifted price targets and ratings (Citigroup to $50 with a Buy, Evercore to $50 Outperform, Scotiabank to $50.25, Morgan Stanley/JPMorgan to $49, RBC higher) — bolstering near-term upside expectations. Citigroup PT Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon reported a Q4 beat (EPS $1.09 vs $1.06 est.; revenue ~$36.4B vs ~$36.1B) and posted large wireless subscriber additions — fundamentals that support the rally. InsiderMonkey Q4/Subscriber Adds
• Positive Sentiment: Management actions: a raised quarterly dividend (new yield ~6.4%) plus headlines about cost cuts tied to the Frontier deal and a $25B buyback plan — both increase shareholder return potential. Yahoo Finance: Frontier deal & buyback
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and analyst-insight pieces are circulating (Globe and Mail, Zacks, AAII) parsing valuation and whether the Q4 beat merits portfolio re‑positioning — useful reading but not an immediate catalyst. Globe and Mail analyst insights
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s stock is moving with the S&P 500 Communications Index — some of today’s move reflects sector flows rather than company-specific news. Kalkine Media
• Negative Sentiment: Senator Maria Cantwell said Verizon (and AT&T) are blocking release of key Salt Typhoon security assessment reports and called for CEOs to testify — this raises regulatory and reputational risk that investors will watch closely. Reuters: Senator on Salt Typhoon
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentaries flag margin pressure from heavy 5G and fiber investment, price lock dynamics and the potential for customer losses tied to prior price cuts — factors that could cap multiple expansion. Zacks: Margin pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Some market pieces warn Verizon may encounter technical resistance near recent highs and note CEO comments that prior price cuts hurt customer counts — caution for momentum traders. USA Today: Price cuts cost customers

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.