Weekly wireless ratings wrap-up

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.

Click here for wireless ratings from past weeks from RCR Wireless News.

Carrier

• RBC Capital Markets increased its price target on Sprint Nextel Corp. from $28 to $30. The firm noted Boost Mobile subscriber additions are tracking ahead of fourth-quarter levels.

• SG Cowen & Co. upgraded its rating on Verizon Communications Inc. to outperform from neutral.

• RW Baird raised its price target on U.S. Cellular Corp. from $51 to $55 after the carrier provided revised restatement adjustments previously disclosed in November and additional operating metrics for the fourth quarter.

• Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised the recovery ratings on $650 million of secured credit facilities and $50 million of secured notes of Cincinnati Bell Inc. to “2” from “3” and removed them from CreditWatch, where they were placed earlier this year with positive implications. The “2” recovery rating denotes prospects for substantial recovery of principal in the event of a payment default. S&P also affirmed its other ratings on the company. The firm said the recovery rating action followed the completion of CBI’s purchase of minority partner Cingular Wireless L.L.C.‘s 19.9-percent share in their wireless joint venture, Cincinnati Bell Wireless L.L.C., which was subsequently contributed to the bank loan’s security package.

Handset and infrastructure vendors

• Harris Nesbitt raised its price target on Nokia Corp. to $24 from $21 following a status report the company provided to analysts.

Other

• Lehman Brothers lowered its estimates on RadioShack Corp., saying the company continues to face challenges, including difficulties in its wireless business. Lehman said it believes units generated by Cingular in the first quarter are about 25 percent to 30 percent less than what Verizon generated a year ago for the company. For 2006, Lehman now expects RadioShack’s EPS to be $1.30 rather than $1.40, and for 2007, it expects EPS of $1.50 rather than $1.60.

• Lehman Brothers slightly raised its 2006 and 2007 EPS estimates on WiderThan Co. Ltd. from 78 cents and 98 cents to 83 cents and $1.02. WiderThan posted fourth-quarter results that were slightly ahead of estimates.

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on SBA Communications from $26 to $27, saying the company’s bid for AAT Communications Corp. is a positive development. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its B+ corporate credit rating on SBA following the acquisition announcement, but it put AAT’s ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications. RBC Capital markets raised its estimates on SBA and raised its price target on the company from $25 to $27.

• RW Baird increased its estimates on Tektronix Inc. and increased its price target on the company to $38 from $34. The moves come after Tektronix beat third-quarter estimates. For FY06, Baird now expects the company to report EPS of $1.34, up from previous estimates of $1.26. For FY07 it predicts EPS of $1.56 up from $1.43.