To: DWB who wrote (25661 ) 4/1/1999 12:32:00 PM From: DWB Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 152472
From the online version of the WSJ...Salomon Smith Barney ups its 12 month target to $170... NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) hit their fifth 52-week high in six trading days Thursday as analysts and investors continued to celebrate the deal the company made last week with L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERICY). Qualcomm, a maker of wireless phone equipment based in San Diego, last Friday settled a long and bitter patent dispute with Sweden's Ericsson, which also makes wireless phone gear. The settlement is expected to greatly advance the development of new wireless technologies. The deal also calls for Ericsson to buy Qualcomm's money-losing wireless network unit, which it had been openly trying to sell. The deal will raise Qualcomm's earnings, bring it a large and steady stream of royalties as new wireless technologies develop and make Qualcomm a sort of Internet play since its gear will be part of the next generation of wireless data gizmos, analysts said. Between the dispute with Ericsson and losses in the infrastructure unit, Qualcomm had been trading at a relatively modest multiple and is now undergoing a revaluation, analysts said. Salomon Smith Barney set a new 12-month price target of 170, replacing both the previous official target of 80 and a preliminary new target of 120. Analyst Alex Cena said he expects earnings estimates for 2000 to rise to $4.25 a share from $3.80 after the company reports earnings April 20. "Two months ago you had a lot of trapped value in Qualcomm," said Volpe Brown Whelan analyst Pete Peterson. "You've seen that value unlocked." He said the gains are taking place over a period of days because the stock has been controversial and tricky to trade in the past, so investors who have been sitting on the sidelines are filing back in thoughtfully, not in a stampede. Qualcomm officials did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier, shares hit a new 52-week high of 133 11/16, shooting past Wednesday's high of 125 3/4. Recently shares were up 7 3/8, or 5.9%, to 131 3/4 as Nasdaq volume neared the daily average of 2.3 million.