Financial ratings wrap-up: AT&T, Broadcom, Alvarion and more

The following list includes ratings changes and financial information for wireless companies announced this week by investment-banking and financial-services firms.
Carrier
–Barclays Capital lowered its price target on Centennial Communications to $8 from $14 and cut its estimates to 37 cents from 45 cents for the current year and to 58 cents from 62 cents for next year.
–Morgan Stanley upgraded the overall telecom sector to attractive from in-line, saying the industry is poised to outperform the broader marked during the next 12 months.
–Morgan Stanley upgraded Embarq to equal weight from underweight on valuation.
–RBC Capital Markets lowered its rating on AT&T to sector perform from outperform and cut its price target on the company to $32 from $45 on reduced estimates and more conservative valuation parameters. The firm also lowered its EPS estimates on the company to $2.92 from $3.01 for 2008 and to $3.15 from $3.42 for 2009.
–RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on Sprint Nextel to $7 from $10.
–RBC Capital Markets cut its price target on Verizon Wireless to $31 from $37.
Other
–Barclays Capital cut its price target on Texas Instruments to $21 from $26 and lowered its estimates on the company to $1.71 from $1.80 for this year and to $1.45 from $1.92 for next year. The moves are a result of general economic concerns.
–RBC Capital Markets lowered its price target on Broadcom to $22 from $36 to reflect the economic downturn. Barclays Capital lowered its price target on Broadcom to $22 from $25 and dropped its estimates on the company to $1.63 from $1.66 for the current year and to $1.34 from $1.48 for next year.
–RBC Capital Markets cut its price target on American Tower to $38 from $51. It also lowered its price target on Crown Castle to $26 from $47 and its price target on SBA Communications to $21 from $41.
–RBC Capital Markets lowered its rating on Alvarion to sector perform from outperform and lowered its price target to $6 from $10 on concerns about the tightening credit market causing WiMAX deployments to slow. The firm also cut its 2009 estimates on the company to 20 cents on $316 million in revenues from 45 cents on revenues of $359 million.