Sprint Falls as Bernstein Cuts Rating on Apple IPhone Risk
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Sprint Nextel Corp. declined the most in three months after Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded the company to underperform amid concern it won’t sell enough iPhones to afford its “punishing” commitment with Apple Inc.
The high costs of network upgrades, a “stupendous debt burden” and a “hobbled 4G offering” that may be insufficient to sell millions of iPhones this year, are some of the challenges faced by the nation’s third-largest wireless operator, analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a research note today. Sprint plans to have long-term-evolution or LTE service in 6 cities by the middle of this year. Moffett had previously rated the shares market perform.