SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Posted by Francis Steltz on Aug 21st, 2026

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (NYSE:SKM – Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $38.31, but opened at $40.30. SK Telecom shares last traded at $40.90, with a volume of 530,278 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SKM shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of SK Telecom from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of SK Telecom from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC upgraded SK Telecom from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised SK Telecom from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SKM

SK Telecom Trading Up 6.0%

The firm has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.97 and a 200-day moving average of $33.99.

SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. SK Telecom had a return on equity of 5.59% and a net margin of 4.23%. Research analysts anticipate that SK Telecom Co., Ltd. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SK Telecom

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SKM. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in SK Telecom by 8.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 43,999 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,316 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of SK Telecom during the 1st quarter worth about $85,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of SK Telecom by 160.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 226,848 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock worth $4,823,000 after purchasing an additional 139,829 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of SK Telecom by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 260,140 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $5,531,000 after purchasing an additional 83,030 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SK Telecom by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,732 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period.

SK Telecom Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

SK Telecom Co, Ltd. (NYSE:SKM) is South Korea’s largest wireless carrier, offering a comprehensive range of mobile telecommunications services. The company operates 5G, 4G LTE and IoT networks, providing voice, data and messaging solutions to consumers and businesses. Beyond traditional wireless services, SK Telecom delivers fixed-line broadband, digital content platforms, cloud computing and cybersecurity offerings designed to support enterprise digital transformation and the growing demand for high-speed connectivity.

Established in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications Services, SK Telecom pioneered cellular service commercialization in South Korea and has continually expanded into new technology areas.