Sprint shares rise ahead of earnings report
* Investors gear up for solid Q2 at Sprint
* Sprint shares up 5.97 pct on NYSE
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Shares in Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) rose 6 percent on Monday, as some investors bet its upcoming quarterly report would show signs of an improvement in postpaid mobile subscriber numbers.
Sprint has been working for years to stem losses of so-called postpaid customers who pay monthly-bills and typically commit to two-year contracts.
It saw its shares rise 28 cents to $4.97 on the New York Stock Exchange two days ahead of its July 28 scheduled report of second-quarter financials.
Wells Fargo Securities analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said in a July 26 research note that she expects Sprint to report that it has gained market share from smaller rival T-Mobile USA, an affiliate of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGn.DE), in the second quarter.
Fritzsche said Sprint's launch of HTC Corp's (2498.TW) EVO phone in the quarter may have helped it "hold its own" against bigger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc (T.N), the exclusive provider for Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone.
Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin said investors in Sprint, the No. 3 US mobile provider, have high hopes for the upcoming quarterly report.
"Investors are gearing up for a quarter that demonstrates that Sprint's turnaround is in full swing," he said. "In addition, we expect commentary on the call that suggests results will improve further in the second half of 2010."
On average Sprint is expected to report a loss of 355,000 postpaid customers for the second quarter, according to eight analysts contacted by Reuters.
In comparison, Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L), last week reported additions of 665,000 postpaid customers while AT&T added 496,000 postpaid customers in the quarter.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew; editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com + 1 646 2236186)) Keywords: SPRINT/
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