Continue reading New Smartphone Could Give Nokia's Stock a Boost

New Smartphone Could Give Nokia's Stock a Boost originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Goldman Sachs (GS) was quite the busy brokerage this morning, as it trekked through the financial sector and also issued a number of other upgrades, including one for Sprint Nextel (S).

The brokerage upped Sprint to buy from neutral, issuing a $6 price target, a nice elevation from the previous target of $3.50. Goldman noted that the reason for the upgrade is churn, and that the company is "about to move the needle." Goldman stated, "Sprint's gross add/upgrade activity slowed sharply in 2008, which ironically should benefit the company over the course of 2010 as the logical pool of churn subscribers is reduced." The upgrade comes basically from a glorified hunch.

Continue reading Sprint Nextel Upgraded to Buy

Sprint Nextel Upgraded to Buy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 May 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple Inc.

Continue reading Apple reports 2 billion app downloads

Apple reports 2 billion app downloads originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Verizon reports second quarter earnings, matches estimates

Verizon reports second quarter earnings, matches estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bharti and MTN: Ready for a $23 billion deal?

Bharti and MTN: Ready for a $23 billion deal? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 May 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Choose Verizon (VZ), if you're just as cautious as its subscribers

Choose Verizon (VZ), if you're just as cautious as its subscribers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading AT&T (T) still rings true

AT&T (T) still rings true originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Motorola (MOT) shares fall on poor earnings

Motorola (MOT) shares fall on poor earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Can Motorola (MOT) break even?

Earnings preview: Can Motorola (MOT) break even? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dropped calls have been a nuisance since the dawn of cell phones. But which cellular service provider has the best record in terms of the fewest dropped calls?

In a recent survey, ChangeWave asked 3,800 cell phone owners to estimate the percentage of their calls that were dropped during the past 90 days.

The survey, which was conducted Dec. 9-15, 2008, produced a clear winner: Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has the fewest dropped calls of all.

Continue reading Which cell phone carrier has the fewest dropped calls?

Which cell phone carrier has the fewest dropped calls? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Some great news for Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) revolutionary iPhone today, as a new study shows that for the first time ever, Apple has moved ahead of competitor Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) for second place in overall smartphone market share.

Top slot remains firmly in the hands of Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE: NOK), but the current data may start to give the perennial champion some reason for concern. While its current lead in market share domination remains well above its next closest competitor, but the figures are much closer than what they were this time last year, another indication of just how popular the iPhone has become over the past year.

Last year at this time, Nokia had a very tight grip on the market, with a reported 51.4% control of the market. It's next closest competitor was Research in Motion, which had 10.6% market share.

Continue reading Apple moves into number 2 slot for smartphones

Apple moves into number 2 slot for smartphones originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), a famous name in the wireless industry whose colleagues include Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN), and Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), reported earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday. While the stock may be up today, I'm not so sure I'd be a buyer of it.

It's not that the bottom-line numbers were wholly bad. Net profit rose 16% to roughly $1.1 billion. Earnings per diluted share on an adjusted basis increased 17% to $0.63. According this news source, that figure beat estimates by three pennies. That's all well and good, but that news source also states that Qualcomm is guiding below consensus. Not surprising, certainly, given what the markets are going through. But it still puts a damper on the stock's near-term potential, in my opinion. Plus, free cash flow was down 13% during the quarter, and it was flat for the twelve-month period.

Except for certain companies like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), I'm not really interested in playing the tech sector. If you had purchased Qualcomm near its 52-week low of $30.87, I'd be a seller into today's strength. No, I certainly can't predict the movement of stock prices, but I can tell you that I think Qualcomm could easily pull back from today's rally. The recession is going to worsen, and I don't think we've reached the point where the market will begin to discount better days. In fact, we're probably far off from that point. The rally that is going on in the markets as I write this (and by the time this gets published, it could be gone for all I know) feels like a dead-cat bounce. That wouldn't be good for Qualcomm's stock, I'd imagine. So, kudos to management for beating Q4 expectations. But I won't be rewarding you by buying your stock. Sorry!

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Qualcomm beats in Q4, but guidance turns me off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Motorola continues to head into the abyss

Motorola continues to head into the abyss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Apple (AAPL) soars on iPhone sales

Apple (AAPL) soars on iPhone sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Research in Motion Limited (USA)

Continue reading Get ready for the BlackBerry Storm 3G

Get ready for the BlackBerry Storm 3G originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Verizon agrees to pay $21 million to settle cell phone termination fee suit

Verizon agrees to pay $21 million to settle cell phone termination fee suit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Driving on the LA freeways yesterday, there was a message on the periodic amber signs. That is, drivers will need to use hands-free mobile devices if they want to talk on their cell phones.

And, yes, it's caused a stir (LA folks love their cars and cell phones -- hey, it's a lifestyle here). At the same time, I've almost got into a few accidents because of another driver's cell phone use (and, in some cases, texting).

But, will the new California law make any difference?

Well, according to a piece in the Daily Breeze, the answer may be: it depends.

For example, Larry Rosen, who is a psychology professor at the California State University, Dominguez Hills, believes that the law doesn't address the core problem. Basically, cell phone use -- whether hands-free or not -- is a distraction (known as "inattention blindness").

Of course, there are a variety of studies on the topic. Unfortunately, the conclusions are mixed. In other words, it's pretty tough to isolate cause-and-effect on a large scale.

There is one thing that's certain: the new law should result in a boost in hands-free device sales by such makers as Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK).

So, to learn more about the new law, you can check out CA Hands-Free.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

California drivers go hands-free: Will it mean anything? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Motorola (MOT) shares slide down to a five-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is getting close to picking a CEO for its handset division. The operation is going to be spun-out next year. Its worldwide share of the cell phone business has fallen from 22% to about 10% over the last two years.

The CEO search may be one of those odd situations where a chimpanzee may be as good as a man.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Chief Executive Greg Brown is desperate to find a manager to turn around Motorola's mobile-devices division, which has lost $1.6 billion since January 2007, when its hit Razr phone ran out of steam." But, can new management do what two previous generations of managers at Motorola could not do? The company has been effectively flanked by the world's largest handset company, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), along with Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Getting back any market share may be hard for Motorola.

The spin-off also raises the issue of how the new unit will find capital. It will need at least $2 billion to $3 billion in cash. For a failing company, that may be hard to come by.

Motorola now trades at $9. Its enterprise and home electronics divisions could be worth as much as its $20 billion market cap. That leaves the handset unit with a value of zero.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and the author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 newsletter.

Motorola (MOT) looks for new handset CEO, captain of the Titanic originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading More and more Americans are moving away from landlines

More and more Americans are moving away from landlines originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 May 2008 15:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.