Cross-posted from StreetInsight.com….
Motorola (MOT) reports on April 20th. Yesterday, the shares had their best day in a long time, rising over 2% in a strong tape for technology stocks. After peaking at over $18 in December, the shares have fallen pretty steadily to recent lows at $14.70. I’ve been long the stock since last summer and quite frustrated as earnings results have generally been quite good. My thesis has been that improved execution under the new management team would be rewarded with a higher valuation. I thought numbers could be a bit low as well which would have added some leverage to the return.

Smith Barney was out with a good note yesterday capturing the issues that have troubled the stock. The same note included an estimate increase for the soon to be reported quarter to above consensus that was likely the source of yesterday’s upside in the stock. The issues for the stock have been (1) rumblings from suppliers that MOT is pushing out orders, (2) lack of margin expansion in handsets against strong volumes and ASPs, (3) fears about the near-term impact of the company’s rollout of sub-$40 GSM handsets targeted at emerging markets, (4) MOT’s poor win percentage in wireless network infrastructure buildouts, (5) fears abut the impact of consolidation among wireless carriers