SK Telecom Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SKM)

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 14,009 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 171% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,160 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SKM. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in SK Telecom by 83.1% during the 4th quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 362,424 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $7,441,000 after purchasing an additional 164,472 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in SK Telecom by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 221,300 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $4,543,000 after purchasing an additional 34,100 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SK Telecom in the first quarter worth about $9,065,000. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in SK Telecom by 80.6% in the first quarter. Euro Pacific Asset Management LLC now owns 223,557 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $6,513,000 after buying an additional 99,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SK Telecom in the first quarter worth approximately $3,511,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

SK Telecom Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE:SKM opened at $35.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.29. The company has a market capitalization of $13.54 billion, a PE ratio of 58.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.15. SK Telecom has a 1-year low of $19.66 and a 1-year high of $47.18.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that SK Telecom will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.