SK Telecom Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:SKM)

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 14,009 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 171% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,160 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in SK Telecom by 202.4% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 606,347 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $12,448,000 after buying an additional 405,863 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in SK Telecom by 17.9% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 374,428 shares during the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 136.8% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 568,343 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $16,647,000 after acquiring an additional 328,300 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 80,378.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 328,353 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $6,741,000 after acquiring an additional 327,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SK Telecom during the first quarter worth approximately $9,065,000.

SK Telecom Stock Performance

NYSE SKM opened at $35.64 on Friday. SK Telecom has a 52-week low of $19.66 and a 52-week high of $47.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.63 and a 200-day moving average of $32.31.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.10. SK Telecom had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 2.78%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SK Telecom will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SKM shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of SK Telecom from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. HSBC upgraded SK Telecom from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research upgraded SK Telecom from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

SK Telecom Company Profile

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.