Short Interest in Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Drops By 20.8%

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a decrease of 20.8% from the December 15th total of 1,490,000 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 868,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of 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 raised Telefônica Brasil from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Telefônica Brasil from $11.50 to $11.80 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. New Street Research cut Telefônica Brasil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.47.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VIV traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $8.06. The stock had a trading volume of 854,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,593. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Telefônica Brasil has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $11.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $8.31 and a 200-day moving average of $8.96. The firm has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.78.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.03. Telefônica Brasil had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 41.1% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 264,413 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $2,716,000 after buying an additional 77,005 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,171,789 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock valued at $12,034,000 after purchasing an additional 385,207 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the second quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 14.3% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,206,334 shares of the Wireless communications provider's stock worth $18,261,000 after purchasing an additional 275,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil during the third quarter worth $5,135,000. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Telefônica Brasil

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.