To: djane who wrote (8065 ) 10/27/1999 2:57:00 PM From: Boplicity Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 29987
Globalstar Shares Fall for Second Day on Production Delays New York, Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Globalstar Telecommunications Ltd. fell as much as 13 percent, their second losing session after the satellite-telephone company said it's having trouble getting phones, which may hamper subscribership. Globalstar shares fell 1 7/16 to 20 5/16 in early afternoon trading of 4.1 million shares, more than triple the three-month daily average. The shares fell as low as 19 earlier and have lost 17 percent in the past two days. Globalstar expects to have 35,000 to 50,000 handsets by year end, less than the 100,000 it first expected, analysts said. Some analysts cut subscriber forecasts as a result. The problem mirrors a difficulty experienced by Iridium LLC, now under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which also couldn't get a timely supply of its phones. ''In the aftermath of Iridium, investors have become more and more spooked by incremental negative news,'' said analyst William Kidd of C.E. Unterberg, Towbin, who has a ''buy'' rating on the stock. ''Maybe there's some need for minor concern, but today the market is over-reacting to yesterday's news.'' ING Barings analyst Rob Kaimowitz today estimated Globalstar will have 441,000 subscribers by the end of 2000. He lowered his estimate six weeks ago to 500,000 from 600,000. ''Investors may be taking a cautionary approach until Globalstar proves their content,'' Kaimowitz said. He rates the stock ''strong buy.'' Globalstar's suppliers include San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. and Ericcson AB of Stockholm. Globalstar will need 1 million customers by the end of 2000 to break even, Chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Schwartz said yesterday on a conference call.