The company recently hired Marcelo Claure as its new chief executive officer, and he looks to simplify the business. Claure recently mentioned in a CNBC note that a key point in Sprint’s strategy going forward was improving its spectrum position, because consumers are primarily concerned with data. In the three weeks that Claure has taken the wheel, the stock has seen a gain of nearly 20% from its 52-week low in August.
In this time, Sprint has offered a price discount for its unlimited data package, which was the industry’s cheapest plan at $60 on August 21. The company also released an “iPhone for life” plan, where consumers are guaranteed a new iPhone every two years for $20 a month. Also, specific rates are offered in conjunction with the iPhone 6 release in which customers would only pay $50 a month for an unlimited plan. According to Claure, Sprint is the only carrier offering a joint plan with the new iPhone 6, noting that he expects it to be the most successful iPhone release to date.
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Zacks talked up the potential for more gains. The independent research firm wrote on Wednesday:
This wireless and wireline communications service provider has seen a mixed track record when it comes to estimate revisions of 1 increase and 2 decreases in the last 30 days. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has moved higher over the same period. This implies solid trading potential for the company. So make sure to keep an eye on this stock going forward to see if yesterday’s rally can turn into more strength down the road.
Barclays also recently upgraded its price target for Sprint to $7 from $6.
Another positive development in Sprint’s network coverage is a recent roaming deal. Sprint said on September 5 that it reached 4G LTE roaming pacts with 15 additional rural carriers, which would span 27 states, another 565,000 square miles and more than 38 million people.
The ongoing carrier wars continue. Sprint and T-Mobile US have all but formally been told by regulators not to pursue a merger, and this keeps the number three and number four carriers from being a more formidable challenger to AT&T and Verizon.
Sprint shares traded at $6.44 in the early afternoon Thursday, up 4.7% from the previous close of $6.15. The stock has a consensus analysts’ price target of $7.28, with a 52-week trading range of $5.36 to $11.47.
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