Shaw Communications Inc., Telefónica, S.A., AT&T and others reached higher-than-usual trading volumes.
Yesterday's session summary: Markets did not have a clear cut direction — Nasdaq closed 12,072 after a stable day. Dow Jones closed at 33,800 after a flat day.
Why trading volume matters?
Trading volume is simply the total number of shares traded including both buy and sell orders. If a stock has appreciated on high volume, it is more likely to be a sustained move compared to an appreciation with low volume. Typically, high volume trading sessions are considered significant occurrences and closely watched by traders.
While trading was mostly sideways yesterday, several communication_services stocks were actively traded. Here's an update:
Shaw Communications | 473% above rolling average
Shaw Communications Inc. hit a significant low of $24 around 6 months ago, but has since recovered 24.68%. The stock has been trending positively for about a month. The Canadian ISP's market cap currently stands at $14.94 billion with an average daily trading volume of 1.34 million shares.
With 6.35 million shares traded yesterday, Shaw Communications beat its daily average by 473% to cap off a frenetic trading day.
Telefonica | 439% above rolling average
Telefonica outpaced its average daily trading volume (1 million) with 4.58 million shares traded yesterday.
This year has been a bright one for the Spanish telecoms titan after trading as low as $3.15 and going on to appreciate by 21.7% year to date. The stock has been trending positively for about a month. Telefonica's bearish run has lasted 7 days so far (-7 cents).
AT&T | 221% higher than rolling average
AT&T had a compelling day yesterday, with 76.71 million shares traded helping the company surpass its average daily volume by 221%.
The telecoms multinational is now trading 20.64% above the significant low ($14.63) it slumped to 6 months ago.
AT&T's board sets quarterly dividend of 27.75 cents per share to be paid on Monday, May 1st; annual dividend yield esimated at 6.09%.
— Average trading volume refers to a 21-day rolling average.