TLDR
- Verizon (VZ) stock fell 3.3% in pre-market trading Friday to $43.70 after a report that SpaceX wants access to 80,000 cell sites.
- AT&T and T-Mobile also dropped, even though AT&T beat earnings and raised its outlook.
- Verizon had risen 3.7% to about $45.16 on Thursday before the reversal.
- CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares on Oct. 20 under a pre-arranged plan, and a Form 144 filing was disclosed Oct. 22.
- Verizon reports earnings Monday, with analysts expecting EPS of about $1.27.
Verizon (VZ) stock slid 3.3% in pre-market trading Friday to $43.70. The drop followed a Bloomberg report that SpaceX is negotiating access to at least 80,000 cell sites in the US.
Verizon Communications Inc., VZ
That is roughly half of all purpose-built towers in the country. The access could lay the groundwork for a fourth nationwide wireless carrier.
The slide wiped out a good Thursday. Verizon rose 3.7% to about $45.16 after closing at $43.56 the day before, with a session high of $45.29.
Volume reached about 28.2 million, slightly above the 27.3 million daily average. AT&T and T-Mobile also fell in after-hours and pre-market trading as investors weighed a well-funded new entrant.
AT&T Results Fail to Lift the Sector
AT&T reported third-quarter results ahead of Verizon. It beat earnings and raised its full-year outlook.
Even so, the report did not lift sector sentiment. Investors pointed to concerns about slowing industry growth.
MarketBeat also noted SpaceX’s roughly $8 billion nationwide 800 MHz spectrum purchase. Some investors worry satellite connectivity could pressure wireless pricing, which has overshadowed Verizon’s upcoming report.
Technically, Verizon was already below its 50-day average of $47.65 and its 200-day average of $46.66. That left the stock open to a sharper reaction on bad headlines.
What Wall Street and Insiders Are Doing
Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon kept a Hold rating and a $45 price target. The broader consensus is also Hold, with an average target of $50.80.
Eight analysts rate the stock a Buy and twelve rate it a Hold. TD Cowen has a Buy rating and a $56 target.
CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares at $44.48 on Tuesday, for $48,928. The sale cut his direct holdings by 1.09%.
A Form 144 filing, which signals a planned sale of restricted securities, was disclosed Oct. 22. Insiders have sold about $469,000 of stock over the past three months.
Verizon carries a market value of $187.61 billion and a P/E ratio of 11.76. Its quarterly dividend of $0.7075 works out to a yield of about 6.3%.
Last quarter, Verizon earned $1.30 per share against the $1.27 expected. Revenue of $34.25 billion missed the $35.16 billion estimate and fell 0.7% from a year earlier.
Verizon reports Monday, and analysts expect EPS of about $1.27. Investors will watch wireless customer additions, churn and broadband growth, with the stock now near the lower end of its 52-week range of $38.54 to $51.68.
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