PLDT stock down amid market woes, flat earnings

SHARES of the Pangilinan-led PLDT declined last week following market pressures and cautious investor sentiment.

Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed that the telecommunications giant ranked 8th in value turnover, with P1.13 billion worth of 866,765 shares traded from Nov. 25 to 29.

PLDT shares closed at P1,297 on Friday, down 3.93% from P1,350 on Nov. 22. Year to date, the stock inched up by 1.41%.

Cristopher Adrian T. San Pedro, an equity trader from Unicapital Securities, Inc., said in a Viber message that investors remained cautious and on the sell side due to a lack of catalysts and uncertainties surrounding US tariffs, monetary policy, and political risk.

In a separate Viber message, Jeconiah S. Nicolas, a research analyst from The First Resources Management and Securities, said PLDT remains “fundamentally strong” despite general market pessimism due to Donald J. Trump’s protectionist policies.

“In addition, the current labor union issues and the flat Q3 (third-quarter) earnings of the company may have also been contributing to the negative jitters for the stock,” Mr. Nicolas said.

US President-elect Donald J. Trump last week pledged tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as additional tariffs on China, saying the policy would remain in place until it “clamped down” on the drug fentanyl and its illegal immigrants crossing the border.

PLDT last Thursday addressed the labor union issue, stating it is working with the labor department and its rank-and-file workers union to resolve the issue linked to their ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations. It also said its operations will remain unaffected despite the threat of a nationwide strike by the union members.

Last Wednesday, PLDT announced a new service that promises to provide “always on” connectivity to its users, marking the country’s first-ever “uninterrupted” broadband service. The service features a hybrid modem that automatically switches a customer’s connection from fiber to LTE in case of service interruption.

Mr. Nicolas said this initiative by the company provides “breathing room” for its investors by ensuring it maintains a competitive service within the tightening competition in the Telco industry.

“However, we believe that potential investors would still be in a ‘wait-and-see’ mode on how its recent development will contribute to the improvement of the company’s services, which is crucial for PLDT’s operations,” he said in the same Viber message. 

For the third quarter, PLDT reported a 2.28% year-on-year increase in its attributable net income to P9.7 billion from P9.49 billion. Meanwhile, its consolidated revenue rose by 1.99% to P53.36 billion from P52.32 billion.

For the first nine months of the year, its attributable net income increased by 0.81% to P28.22 billion from P28 billion, while consolidated revenues for the period increased by 2.93% to P160.94 billion from P156.36 billion.

Mr. San Pedro expects a revenue target of around P55.2 billion for this quarter, while his full-year forecast is a total revenue of P215 billion.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nicolas places it slightly higher, expecting PLDT to post earnings of P57.5 billion with a full-year forecast of P222.17 billion.

For his part, Mr. San Pedro puts the support level near P1,255 and P1,290, with resistance levels projected at P1,356 and P1,400.

“The trend remains bearish as the stock is still searching for a potential short-term bottom,” he said.

Mr. Nicolas pegged the resistance level of its recent head and shoulder pattern at the P1,450 level, with a second resistance at its August high of P1,600. For the support level, he puts P1,270-1,280 as strong support for the stock.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Kenneth H. Hernandez