Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a decline of 20.8% from the December 15th total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 868,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays increased their price target 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 lowered Telefônica Brasil from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $10.60 to $9.20 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.47.

Telefônica Brasil Stock Performance

VIV stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.06. 553,070 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,182. Telefônica Brasil has a 1-year low of $7.47 and a 1-year high of $11.43. The firm has a market cap of $13.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Telefônica Brasil by 42.2% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,472 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 6,666 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 393,618 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $3,238,000 after buying an additional 5,983 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Telefônica Brasil by 12.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,828,800 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $15,014,000 after buying an additional 197,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Telefônica Brasil by 2.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 56,552 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Telefônica Brasil by 23.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 66,466 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 12,798 shares in the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.