Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $50.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $52.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.81% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.67.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Verizon Communications has a 1-year low of $38.68 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total transaction of $48,928.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 99,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,446,487.68. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,900 shares of company stock valued at $469,073 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verizon Communications

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,743,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,794 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,972,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $884,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305,471 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.31 per share, above the $1.27 analyst consensus, while net income increased year over year. The company also raised its full-year 2026 outlook for adjusted EPS, postpaid phone additions and free cash flow. Verizon Communications Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wireless momentum was strong: Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone customers and 137,000 postpaid accounts, its best third-quarter phone-addition performance in five years. Mobility and broadband service revenue rose 2.9% year over year. Verizon Delivers Another Record-Breaking Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: A more-than-$2 billion agreement with Amazon Web Services to expand AI infrastructure and a dark-fiber opportunity support Verizon’s efforts to develop growth beyond traditional wireless services. Verizon Lifts Outlook and Inks Amazon Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon’s CEO said SpaceX could be years away from becoming a meaningful U.S. wireless competitor because it would require substantial ground infrastructure and investment. This may ease immediate competitive concerns but does not eliminate the longer-term threat. Verizon CEO Discusses SpaceX Competition
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $34.31 billion rose only 1.5% but missed the $34.77 billion consensus estimate. The revenue miss overshadowed the profit and subscriber beats, raising concerns about Verizon’s limited top-line growth in a mature market. Verizon Stock Falls on Revenue Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Lower phone upgrades and uncertainty surrounding a potential SpaceX wireless network add to investor caution. Several analysts continue to rate VZ “Hold,” citing strong cash flow and dividend support but limited upside from a slow-growth core business. Verizon Improving Profits Can Only Get You So Far

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.