Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Barclays

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Barclays from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the cell phone carrier’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 1.81% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.22 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications has a 52 week low of $38.68 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $179.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total transaction of $48,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 99,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,446,487.68. This trade represents a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,900 shares of company stock worth $469,073 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Gill Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 37.4% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong customer additions and raised outlook: Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone subscribers and 137,000 postpaid accounts in the third quarter, its strongest third-quarter phone performance in five years. Management raised its 2026 forecasts for adjusted EPS, free cash flow and postpaid phone additions. Verizon third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and AI infrastructure deal: Adjusted earnings of $1.31 per share exceeded the $1.27 consensus estimate, while Verizon signed an agreement valued at more than $2 billion with Amazon Web Services to provide infrastructure supporting AI workloads. The company also reported improving margins, strong cash flow and broadband growth. Verizon outlook and Amazon deal
• Neutral Sentiment: SpaceX threat viewed as longer term: CEO Dan Schulman said Verizon could work with satellite providers such as Starlink to supplement wireless coverage, but does not intend to let SpaceX use Verizon’s network to compete directly for mobile customers. He suggested SpaceX could be years—and require substantial investment—away from becoming a major U.S. wireless rival. Verizon CEO on Starlink
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss overshadowed operating gains: Third-quarter revenue rose 1.5% year over year to $34.31 billion, below the $34.77 billion analyst estimate. The top-line miss outweighed the EPS beat, contributing to the stock’s decline and reinforcing concerns about Verizon’s limited growth in its mature core business. Why Verizon stock is down
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution remains: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $52 to $50 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, while broader sell-side coverage remains centered on “hold” recommendations. Morgan Stanley Verizon rating

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.