Q4 Preview: Sprint (S) Continues to Lag Behind Rivals (T, VZ)
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Price: $21.19 +1.19%
Revenue Growth %: +19.8%
Financial Fact:
Operating income (loss): 622M
Today's EPS Names:
BTTX, VAXX, ELYS, More
Revenue Growth %: +19.8%
Financial Fact:
Operating income (loss): 622M
Today's EPS Names:
BTTX, VAXX, ELYS, More
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Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) shares are up 6 cents to $4.37 in early late market movement on Wednesday heading into the company's fourth-quarter earnings scheduled Thursday before the opening bell.
The networking solutions provider is expected to report a fourth-quarter loss of $0.30 per share on sales of $8.16 billion.
In the third-quarter, Sprint posted a loss of $0.30, compared to the analyst estimate for a loss of $0.28. The company also reported revenue of $8.15 billion last quarter, just topping the Street's view of $8.03 billion.
Since the start of the fourth quarter, shares of Sprint are down $0.40 or 8.64 percent. Over the last year the stock is up $0.57 or 15.57 percent.
Data from Bloomberg shows that 11 analysts have a Buy rating on the stock, 17 have a Hold and 5 have a Sell. The average analyst price target on Sprint is $5 with a target range of $3 to $8.
Analyst Rating Changes Throughout the Quarter:
October 28, RBC Capital downgraded Sprint to Sector Perform.
November 2, William Blair initiated coverage at Underperform.
November 16, Piper Jaffray upgraded to Neutral.
December 6, Citadel Securities upgraded to Add.
December 14, Nomura Securities initiated coverage at Neutral.
Analyst Comments:
Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating on Sprint with a price target of $7 on the stock. The firm said, "We expect Sprint's 4Q10 results to highlight ongoing improvement in core operating fundamentals. Key trends that we anticipate include the 2nd consecutive quarter of YoY revenue growth, continued strength in prepaid and nominally positive post paid net adds due to new 4G market launches. We will also be looking for 2011 guidance on subscriber trends (post paid net add est +300k vs. consensus -68k) and capex ($3.3B est vs. consensus $2.6B)."
JPMorgan analysts maintain an Overweight rating on Sprint with a price target of $7. The firm said, "We expect Sprint to report a good postpaid quarter, with positive net adds and improved churn. We look for 25k postpaid and 450k prepaid adds for 4Q10, vs. consensus at 7k and 512k. Our checks indicate positive 4Q10 net adds for Sprint’s postpaid business, with CDMA porting trends coming in positive against other carriers. We maintain our 25k adds est."
Sprint is continuing to play catch-up to rivals AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) as the smartphone and tablet revolution takes shape. Without access to the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, Sprint will need to focus its future for now on sales of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android devices and BlackBerrys from Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM).
The networking solutions provider is expected to report a fourth-quarter loss of $0.30 per share on sales of $8.16 billion.
In the third-quarter, Sprint posted a loss of $0.30, compared to the analyst estimate for a loss of $0.28. The company also reported revenue of $8.15 billion last quarter, just topping the Street's view of $8.03 billion.
Since the start of the fourth quarter, shares of Sprint are down $0.40 or 8.64 percent. Over the last year the stock is up $0.57 or 15.57 percent.
Data from Bloomberg shows that 11 analysts have a Buy rating on the stock, 17 have a Hold and 5 have a Sell. The average analyst price target on Sprint is $5 with a target range of $3 to $8.
Analyst Rating Changes Throughout the Quarter:
October 28, RBC Capital downgraded Sprint to Sector Perform.
November 2, William Blair initiated coverage at Underperform.
November 16, Piper Jaffray upgraded to Neutral.
December 6, Citadel Securities upgraded to Add.
December 14, Nomura Securities initiated coverage at Neutral.
Analyst Comments:
Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating on Sprint with a price target of $7 on the stock. The firm said, "We expect Sprint's 4Q10 results to highlight ongoing improvement in core operating fundamentals. Key trends that we anticipate include the 2nd consecutive quarter of YoY revenue growth, continued strength in prepaid and nominally positive post paid net adds due to new 4G market launches. We will also be looking for 2011 guidance on subscriber trends (post paid net add est +300k vs. consensus -68k) and capex ($3.3B est vs. consensus $2.6B)."
JPMorgan analysts maintain an Overweight rating on Sprint with a price target of $7. The firm said, "We expect Sprint to report a good postpaid quarter, with positive net adds and improved churn. We look for 25k postpaid and 450k prepaid adds for 4Q10, vs. consensus at 7k and 512k. Our checks indicate positive 4Q10 net adds for Sprint’s postpaid business, with CDMA porting trends coming in positive against other carriers. We maintain our 25k adds est."
Sprint is continuing to play catch-up to rivals AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) as the smartphone and tablet revolution takes shape. Without access to the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, Sprint will need to focus its future for now on sales of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android devices and BlackBerrys from Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM).
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