Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) received a number of price target changes and ratings updates during the last week:

  • Sprint Nextel had its “underperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. They now have a $3.00 price target on the stock.
  • Sprint Nextel had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Bank of America. They now have a $6.00 price target on the stock.
  • Sprint Nextel was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Group from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $7.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $3.00. They wrote, “It is playoff season in baseball, and in a move best described as from out of left field, Sprint confirmed on Thursday that it was in discussions with Japan-based Softbank. With consolidation fever in the air, we take our rating on Sprint to Hold from Underperform, our PT goes to $7 from $3.”
  • Sprint Nextel was upgraded by analysts at Janco Partners to a “buy” rating. They wrote, “Softbank appears to be valuing Sprint at $6.39 per share and we calculate the risk weighted return to Sprint shareholders at $6.38. With a current stock price of $5.73 the arbitrage offers 11% return over the next six to nine months. Clearly our concerns about the NY State sales tax fraud suit did not deter Softbank in striking this transaction. We believe this makes Sprint an attractive stock and accordingly we raise our opinion from Sell (4) to Arbitrage Buy (2). We use a qualified buy opinion to reflect regulatory and other transaction related risk between as US and foreign company.”
  • Sprint Nextel had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Jaffray to $6.50. They wrote, “This morning, Sprint and Softbank confirmed last week’s speculation that Softbank was about to make a major investment in Sprint. The companies have now entered into an agreement under which Softbank will invest $20.1 billion into Sprint. The deal will provide Sprint with substantial capital that will enable the company to continue investing in its network and possibly participate in industry consolidation and/or spectrum sales. We believe this is a good move for the company and mildly positive for the stock.”
  • Sprint Nextel was upgraded by analysts at Bernstein from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating. They now have a $6.00 price target on the stock.
  • Sprint Nextel was downgraded by analysts at Hudson Square Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They wrote, “Following yesterday’s, announcement that Japanese mobile operator Softbank would acquire 70% of Sprint, we lower our rating from Buy to Hold given that factoring dilution from the deal, the shares trade near our valuation target and on concerns for the future direction of capital expenditures.”
  • Sprint Nextel was upgraded by analysts at Robert W. Baird from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $6.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $4.00.
  • Sprint Nextel was upgraded by analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $7.50 price target on the stock.
  • Sprint Nextel had its “equalweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Barclays Capital. They now have a $6.00 price target on the stock.

Shares of Sprint Nextel opened at 5.73 on Thursday. Sprint Nextel has a 52 week low of $2.10 and a 52 week high of $6.04. The company’s market cap is $17.192 billion.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (Sprint) is a holding company, with its operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries.