Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Shares of Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 2,398,942 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 196% from the previous session’s volume of 809,968 shares.The stock last traded at $8.29 and had previously closed at $8.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VIV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. New Street Research downgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $11.50 to $11.80 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.07.

Telefônica Brasil Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.03. Telefônica Brasil had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Telefônica Brasil S.A. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Telefônica Brasil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VIV. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,171,789 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $12,034,000 after buying an additional 385,207 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 308.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 264,192 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $2,166,000 after buying an additional 199,546 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $842,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,206,334 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $18,261,000 after buying an additional 275,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,135,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.16% of the company’s stock.

Telefônica Brasil Company Profile

Telefônica Brasil SA, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a mobile telecommunications company in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, 4.5G, and 5G, as well as mobile value-added and wireless roaming services.