Short Interest in Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) Grows By 27.0%

Telefônica Brasil S.A. (NYSE:VIV) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a growth of 27.0% from the October 31st total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 661,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Telefônica Brasil Trading Down 5.2 %

VIV stock traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $8.21. 745,474 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 803,398. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average is $9.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.08. Telefônica Brasil has a twelve month low of $8.01 and a twelve month high of $11.43.

Telefônica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Telefônica Brasil will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VIV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Telefônica Brasil from $11.50 to $11.80 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Telefônica Brasil from $9.20 to $10.40 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Telefônica Brasil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Telefônica Brasil currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.07.

Institutional Trading of Telefônica Brasil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,222,562 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $12,311,000 after purchasing an additional 72,388 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Telefônica Brasil by 49.0% during the third 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 increased its position in shares of Telefônica Brasil by 308.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 264,192 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 199,546 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Telefônica Brasil in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 275,569 shares in the last quarter. 5.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.