Analyst: Droid Does Drive Profits (T, VZ, MOT, NOK, AAPL, VOD, GOOG, RIMM)

Tickerspy’s PC and Smartphone Index

PC AND SMARTPHONE INVESTING IDEAS

• Popular long ideas: AAPL, BBRY, HPQ
• Popular short ideas: AAPL, BBRY, NOK
• Top dividend plays: AAPL, HPQ, DELL
• Pro favorites: AAPL, HPQ, DELL

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PC AND SMARTPHONE COVERAGE

The lines between PCs, smartphones, and other mobile devices are blurring

• Rumors Abound On New iPhone; Motorola Mobility Struggles To Find Its Way (AAPL, MMI, VZ, GOOG, DELL, RIMM, NOK, HPQ)
• Another Price Target Cut For RIM, iPads Encounter Difficulty In Japan (RIMM, AAPL, GOOG, MSFT, DELL, MMI, HPQ, NOK)
• Samsung Beating Apple and Nokia; Pink Slips At RIM (AAPL, GOOG, NOK, RIMM, DELL, HPQ, MMI)

PC AND SMARTPHONE CHART

PC AND SMARTPHONE METRICS

Avg. Market Cap:	$100.1B
Avg. P/E Ratio:	11.2
Avg. Div Yield:	1.6%

After years of AT&T (T) envy, Verizon (VZ) customers finally have iPhone alternatives to get excited about, and MKM Partners sees Motorola’s (MOT) Droids pushing profits ahead of analyst consensus in the second quarter. The firm thinks Motorola’s earnings will exceed the company’s 5-cent EPS guidance, as well as the 7-cent analyst expectations when it reports Q2 earnings before Thursday’s opening bell. Meanwhile, huge demand for the newly released Droid X, which won’t impact second-quarter results, appears to have “exceeded even the most optimistic views” according to RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue via Forbes. That bodes well for solid third-quarter guidance, which MKM also sees exceeding its own 8-cent EPS and $5.5 billion revenue forecast, as well as the 9-cent on $5.5 billion consensus.

As a whole, the Personal Computer and Smartphone Stocks Index is beating the S&P 500 by 1% on a one-month basis, and Motorola is among top performers for the period, lagging only Nokia (NOK). Meanwhile, Apple (AAPL) is the Index’s worst performer over the last month, slipping into negative territory while the rest of its peers push higher with the market.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon Wireless, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group PLC (VOD), added a net 665,000 contract customers in the second quarter, compared to just 496,000 at AT&T. It is worth noting that the iPhone 4 was released on June 24, just prior to the end of Q2, while the Droid X — Verizon’s latest, and by many accounts greatest Google (GOOG) Android-powered device — didn’t come out until mid-July.

It will be interesting to see whether analysts are on target with their Motorola forecasts for second-quarter results, and if Droid X optimism turns into better-than-expected third-quarter guidance. The stock is a laggard over the past five sessions, losing more than -2%. Blackberry-maker Research in Motion (RIMM) is the only Personal Computer and Smartphone Stocks Index component to do worse for the period.

Investors can track the Personal Computer and Smartphone Stocks Index for performance trends and a suite of other metrics at tickerspy.com.

Tags: AAPL, GOOG, MOT, NOK, RIMM, T, VOD, VZ