Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 39,320,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the January 15th total of 36,040,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 17,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ERIC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.01. The company had a trading volume of 15,963,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,742,895. The stock has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -801,000.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.85. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson has a fifty-two week low of $4.77 and a fifty-two week high of $8.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by ($0.04). Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) had a net margin of 0.06% and a return on equity of 13.70%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 401.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 13,607,012 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $109,673,000 after purchasing an additional 10,891,451 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 234.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,744,940 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $54,364,000 after purchasing an additional 4,729,207 shares during the last quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 6,382,140 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $51,440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427,386 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,808,322 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock valued at $38,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705,246 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) in the 4th quarter valued at $23,440,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Company Profile

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ), together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile connectivity solutions for telcom operators and enterprise customers in various sectors in North America, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, North East Asia, South East Asia, Oceania, and India. It operates in four segments: Networks; Cloud Software and Services; Enterprise; and Other.