Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $52.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 3.0%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $48.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.29. Verizon Communications has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results showed an EPS beat and management described a turnaround with stronger profitability and postpaid phone subscriber gains — the core catalyst for the rally. Verizon CEO Claims Turnaround Is Officially Underway
• Positive Sentiment: Promotional push delivered ~55K new wireless subscribers and Verizon raised FY‑26 profit guidance, directly improving near‑term revenue and margin outlook. Verizon’s promos lead to 55K new wireless subscribers; raises FY26 profit guidance
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on VZ to $52 (maintaining a Neutral rating), signaling modest upside from current levels and lending analyst support to the move higher. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer perks — bundled/discounted streaming offers — are likely helping acquisition and retention trends, supporting ARPU and churn improvements. Verizon’s Streaming Deals Let You Watch Netflix, Disney Plus and More, for Less
• Neutral Sentiment: Cydcor, a Verizon channel partner, won Verizon’s 2025 ACD Wireless Agent of the Year award — a positive PR/partner win but limited direct impact on VZ fundamentals. Cydcor Earns Verizon’s 2025 ACD Wireless Agent of the Year Award
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst tweak: Erste Group trimmed FY‑2027 EPS slightly (from $5.28 to $5.26) but keeps a Strong‑Buy — little near‑term impact given the tiny change. MarketBeat / Erste Group note
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation and analyst-opinion pieces revisit VZ after the Q1 surprise; useful for longer‑term positioning but not immediate catalysts. A Look At Verizon (VZ) Valuation After Strong Q1 Earnings And Subscriber Turnaround
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that rising total debt after the Frontier acquisition could pressure income investors and increase financial risk — this is the main structural downside investors cite. The Ticking Time Bomb That Could Force Income Investors to Sell Verizon Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor OXIO hired a former Verizon executive as CCO — a small talent/competitive signal that could matter in niche TaaS segments but is unlikely to shift overall VZ fundamentals. OXIO Appoints Former Verizon Executive Jeremy Bolton as Chief Commercial Officer

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.