SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $38.31, but opened at $40.30. SK Telecom shares last traded at $40.90, with a volume of 530,278 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. HSBC upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of SK Telecom from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

SK Telecom Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.99.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.22. SK Telecom had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 5.59%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SKM. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of SK Telecom in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in shares of SK Telecom during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of SK Telecom during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Matthews International Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of SK Telecom by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Matthews International Capital Management LLC now owns 2,491 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of SK Telecom in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $85,000.

About SK Telecom

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.