Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) (NASDAQ:ERIC - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $8.90, but opened at $7.98. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) shares last traded at $7.88, with a volume of 8,269,693 shares.

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 negative net margin of 0.47% and a positive return on equity of 13.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ERIC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from $5.90 to $6.70 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Institutional Trading of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 225.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,664 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the third quarter worth about $77,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 92.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,534 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new stake in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) during the fourth quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) by 1,737.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 12,382 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 11,708 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.99% of the company's stock.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of -254.00 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.19.

About Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ)

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.