Palm stock upgraded, again on the move
An upgrade by Kaufman Brothers and more buzz about a Palm webOS device arriving at Verizon in Q12010 drove a rally in Palm stock today. Shares rose 5.82% to $12.54, a gain of $0.69.
According to a report posted at MarketWatch.com, Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers boosted his own rating on the stock to Buy from Hold with a target of $16. In his research note, he stated the following:
"Talking with investors, most have written off Palm as a legitimate competitor and assumed Android will be the platform of choice at Verizon and other carriers. We believe Palm still has sizable advantages with its multitouch capability and vertical integration."
All Things D's John Paczkowski referenced Wu in his post that talked about a webOS handset coming to Verizon’s network in the first half of 2010. In response to these stories, MocoNew's Tricia Duryee noted:
"If this is true, then more than ever Palm sounds like a perfect buy-out candidate for Nokia, which has been considered the most interested buyer. The webOS did launch with favorable reviews, but it’s been difficult for Palm to move fast given its always dwindling cash balance. A big company, like Nokia, would be able to provide the financing to get to market quickly, while also having the resources to raise the platforms’ visibility. For Nokia, it would mean supporting yet another operating system, but it would gain a much-needed foothold into the U.S."
