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Technology Stocks : XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sirius_Rich who wrote (2901)	10/4/2006 9:26:18 AM
From: HEXonX	Respond to of 3386

Thanks for the info. This must have been what has pushed SIRI lower by the MMs in order to shake the weakness out yesterday for the end of the day "Big Money" Rally. However XMSR wasn't as weak as to be expected until today. It will be money going out of XMSR and into SIRI, IMO. No fines in this letter. FCC fines could be pretty harsh normally. It's all in the hand of XM's "flawless Management" and Frontmed to help spin this latest news. Granted, most of it is just nit-picking but the key is those 3 or 4 repeaters that they refuse to adjust to FCC specs will bring down some interesting follow-ups. :)

To: Sirius_Rich who wrote (2901)	10/4/2006 11:35:44 AM
From: rrufff	Respond to of 3386

DJ 3rd UPDATE: Sirius 3Q Net Adds Outpace Those At XM 10/04/2006 Dow Jones News Services (Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) (Adds additional guidance information, analyst quote in fourth and fifth paragraphs, updates stock prices in last paragraph.) By Ellen Sheng Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) continued to add more subscribers than its larger rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) in the third quarter. Both companies released quarterly subscriber figures Wednesday. Sirius said it added 441,101 net new users during the three-month period, ending the quarter with 5.1 million customers. XM said it added more than 285,000 net new users, ending the quarter with 7.2 million subscribers. Sirius, helped by the splashy launch of shock jock Howard Stern's satellite radio show this past January, has seen a boost to its subscriber numbers for more than a year, particularly in retail sales. Sirius raised guidance earlier this year, while XM lowered its subscriber outlook twice, citing a weaker retail environment. At the same time, XM faced an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission over transmission standards on some of its radio receivers - a disruption that padded costs and interrupted shipments. Sirius' subscriber figure came in above JPMorgan's estimate of 437,000, while XM's figures were well short of the firm's 353,000 estimate. Both companies said third-quarter subscriber additions put them on track to meet year-end targets. Sirius stood behind its guidance of 6.3 million subscribers by the end of the year, while XM said it's on track to end the year with 7.7 million to 8.2 million users. Analysts had different takes on the two companies' diverging subscriber trends. Tom Eagan of Oppenheimer & Co. sees Sirius stealing market share, particularly in the retail space. In the second quarter, Sirius took the majority of gross subscribers in retail. Eagan estimates this happened again in the third quarter. The analyst has no conflicts to report. Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein, said Sirius' market share gains are mostly due to its smaller base. Because it has a smaller customer base, it loses fewer customers each quarter to regular turnover, giving it an advantage until it "catches up" to XM. Moffett doesn't own shares of either company; his firm has no conflicts to report. Separately, XM said Wednesday that a board member, George Haywood, stepped down for personal reasons. Haywood, 54, has been a private investor in the company since 1998 and a board member since 2004. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for Advanced Bionutrition Corp., a Maryland biotech firm, as well as for PingTones, a voice over Internet Protocol company. This is the second board member that XM has lost this year. Pierce J. Roberts quit his post in February over disagreement with the company over its rate of spending. Roberts was replaced by Eddy Hartenstein, formerly the head of DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV) before it was bought by News Corp. (NWS, NWSA). Shares of Sirius were down 2% at $3.98 in morning trading, while XM shares were down 2.4% at $12.29. - By Ellen Sheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5863; ellen.sheng@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 10-04-06 1118ET Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

To: Sirius_Rich who wrote (2901)	10/5/2006 10:35:02 AM
From: rrufff	Respond to of 3386

Satellite Twins Change Orbit By Steven Smith Senior Columnist 10/4/2006 12:23 PM EDT Click here for more stories by Steven Smith This column was originally published on RealMoney on Oct. 4 at 10:39 a.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. The satellite twins, XM Satellite (XMSR - news - Cramer's Take) and Sirius (SIRI - news - Cramer's Take), both reported their monthly subscriber numbers this morning. XM is losing altitude in terms of growth, adding just 285,000 net new users to a total of 7.18 million, and it looks like it will fall short of its year-end goal of 8 million subs. The stock is off fractionally. The most active strike is the October $12.50 put, but at just 200 contracts, investors don't seem to think the sky is falling. On the other hand, Sirius racked up about 441,000 net new users and now has 5.19 million total. Its stock is fractionally higher, too. Sirius is seeing a build in call-option open interest, most notably in the January 2007 and 2008 $5 calls, which have 151,000 and 98,000 contracts open, respectively. Today's most active strike is the October $4 call, which has traded 1,200 contracts. To follow up on a post I made two weeks ago, in which I felt that Sirius' dip on rumors of Howard Stern's possible departure presented a buying opportunity, I went ahead and established a bullish position for the Options Alerts model portfolio. On the technical front, I think yesterday's close above $4 is very constructive. From a fundamental standpoint, Sirius' wireless product, the Stiletto, will be available for the holiday season and should boost sales and help it continue to gain market share over XM, which has no similar product. So I still think using some of these longer-term Sirius options at the $5 strike with a 20-cent to 60-cent price, depending on the time frame, offers a good leveraged but limited-risk position.