Garmin Shares Rebound After Analyst Says Fears of Nokia-Navteq Are Overblown

From Staff Reports

Shares of personal navigation device maker Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) bounced back after a rocky two days Thursday, after a Deutsche Bank AG (DB) analyst said the sale of Navteq Corp. (NVT), which provides Garmin with map data, is not a threat to Garmin's business.

The analyst, Jonathan Goldberg, maintained his "Buy" rating and $125 price target on Garmin's shares and said the Cayman Islands-based company will find a way to compete - even with the $8.1 billion Nokia Corp. (NOK) purchase of Navteq. It might have to make a run of its own for Navteq, bid for Navteq industry rival Tele Atlas NV, build a mapping network of its own, or just deal with Navteq through Nokia.
The Finland-based Nokia is the world's No. 1 cell phone company.

Goldberg said all four options are acceptable, because Garmin has contracts with Navteq through 2009. Besides, Garmin is Navteq's No. 1 customer, and Nokia may want to keep that revenue stream, Goldberg contends.

Garmin's shares jumped $4.43 each, or 4.59%, yesterday to close at $100.95. The shares are down about 20% since Monday, when the Nokia-Navteq deal was announced.

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