Motorola (MOT) hit a 52-week low today. Make that a multiple year low, at $7.36. Piper Jaffray downgraded the stock last week. The question about the company is whether it is worth more than the sum of its parts.
The handset division is about to be spun-out. Those shares are probably an immediate “sell”. The unit has gone from a global market share of 22% to about 12% and it has not new products to improve that trend. RIM (RIMM), Apple (AAPL), Palm (PALM), and Nokia (NOK) have all launched new handsets. That will squeeze MOT even further. But, holding shares in the company which is left, which has the firm’s home mobility and enterprise units may be rewarding.
Last quarter those parts of the company brought in $4.2 billion and that is growing. They had over $400 million in operating profits. Without handsets, MOT could be a growth stock.
Douglas A. McIntyre