RadioShack rises as analyst upgrades on wireless

posted: 35 DAYS 21 HOURS AGO

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NEW YORK -A Goldman Sachs analyst on Tuesday upgraded RadioShack Corp., predicting the electronics retailer will gain market share in the wireless arena as smartphones continue to rise in popularity.

Shares rose $1.46, or 7.4 percent, to $21.23 during midday trading, after earlier reaching a 52-week high of $21.53. The stock has traded between $6.47 and $20.57 over the past year.

RadioShack has expanded its wireless offerings, including adding T-Mobile to its lineup of wireless carriers in about 4,000 stores in July and nationally rolling out the iPhone.

"RadioShack is more levered to wireless than any other retailer," said Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Fassler. He expects "improved wireless volume as smartphones increasingly hit the mass market."

In addition, Fassler said he expects RadioShack kiosks to be added to more Target stores in 2010. The kiosks are currently being tested in about 100 Target stores.

"RadioShack currently operates kiosks at Sam's Club and other third-party sites; the (Target) program, if our forecast is correct, would grow the kiosk business by nearly $500 million in revenue, increasing earnings by 14 cents per share by 2011," he predicted.

He raised his rating to "Buy" from "Hold" and raised his price target to $25 from $21.

2010-01-05 13:00:47