13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Tw telecom shares jump after JPMorgan upgrade
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NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of tw telecom inc. hit a 12-month highTuesday, propelled by a JPMorgan upgrade on expectations for a recovery in the business telecommunications market.
JPMorgan analyst Mike McCormack raised the company to "overweight" from "neutral" in a note to investors, calling it "the best opportunity for investment in the telecommunications sector."
He said a meeting with top executives added evidence that the wireline business - providing local and long-distance telephone service - is starting to level off and could begin a recovery in the last months of the year.
McCormack said pricing is still competitive. "Management noted that aggressive competition exists in the low end of the market and AT&T and Verizon fiercely protect the high end," he said. "But in general pricing remains rational."
Tw telecom, formerly Time Warner Telecom, reported a third-quarter profit of $7.7 million last week, reversing a year-earlier loss. Revenue rose 5 percent to $304.8 million.
In afternoon trading Tuesday, its shares were up $1.14, or 8.2 percent, to $14.97 after reaching a high of $15.24. The stock had traded between $5.09 and $14.89 over the past year.
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