01.10.05, 9:31 AM ET
Article found @ »www.forbes.com/markets/2005/01/1···n03.html

Credit Suisse First Boston said that in its telecom equipment coverage Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) "remains our top pick for 2005 and we remain confident that Motorola will benefit from a continued mix shift towards high-end handsets, continued product improvements and further handset product cost reductions to drive margin expansion in 2005." CSFB, which rates the telecom and technology giant at "outperform" with a $21 price target, raised estimates "to reflect increased handset market estimates." The research firm raised the calendar 2005 estimate to earnings of 96 cents per share on revenue of $33.5 billion, from earnings of 95 cents per share on revenue of $32.9 billion. CSFB raised the calendar 2006 estimate to earnings of $1.04 per share on revenue of $35.2 billion, from earnings of $1.03 per share on revenue of $34.4 billion. The firm, which sees Motorola's fourth-quarter earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $8.3 billion, said there could be upside when Motorola reports earnings Jan. 18. "Although year-over-year growth has begun to slow, our monthly handset index implies sequential unit growth well ahead of our 10% sequential growth estimate," CSFB said. "In addition, we believe Motorola regained some of the share lost in the third quarter and see potential upside to our current estimate of 26.8 million units in the fourth quarter."