Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at Freedom Broker

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) was upgraded by stock analysts at Freedom Broker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $55.00 target price on the cell phone carrier’s stock, up from their prior target price of $53.00. Freedom Broker‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 27.43% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.75.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.77 on Wednesday, hitting $43.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 25,368,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,451,646. The company has a market capitalization of $179.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications has a 1 year low of $38.68 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $47.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,075,794 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $184,260,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $132,893,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Operational momentum remains strong. Verizon reported adjusted third-quarter EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus, while revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $34.31 billion. Record postpaid phone additions, broadband growth and lower promotional costs supported the results. Verizon Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Growth and AI Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 outlook. Verizon increased guidance for postpaid net additions, earnings and free cash flow, reinforcing the bullish case for its dividend and balance-sheet improvement. The company also highlighted record broadband revenue and $7.8 billion of quarterly free cash flow. Verizon Q3: Mr. Market Is Giving Away Over 6% Yield After Another Record Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure could create a new growth channel. Verizon has secured roughly $4 billion in AI-related contracts with Amazon Web Services and Alphabet, while expanding fiber capacity. Customer-funded expansion at Corning, a key fiber supplier, could support Verizon’s longer-term network strategy. The Invisible AI Backbone: Corning’s AI Fiber Play
• Neutral Sentiment: Starlink is viewed as both a potential partner and competitor. CEO Dan Schulman said Verizon could work with satellite providers to extend coverage, but SpaceX would need substantial time and capital—potentially four to six years and hundreds of billions of dollars—to become a full-scale wireless rival. Verizon CEO Open to Working With Elon Musk’s Starlink
• Neutral Sentiment: An executive stock sale was limited in size. CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares for approximately $47,300 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his position by 1.1%. The planned nature and small size make the transaction less significant for investors. SEC Form 4 Filing
• Negative Sentiment: The revenue miss overshadowed the earnings beat. Quarterly revenue of $34.31 billion fell short of the $34.77 billion analyst estimate, raising concerns about growth and contributing to the share-price decline despite stronger-than-expected earnings. Why Verizon Stock Is Down Today
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts trimmed price targets after the report. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Citi, Daiwa, BNP Paribas Exane and TD Cowen all reduced targets, although several retained buy ratings. The revisions signal more limited near-term upside and continued skepticism about revenue growth.

About Verizon Communications

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.