If you made money on the market today, you’re in the minority.

PVX dropped a ton, and someone consummated a trade at $0.01 per share.

I started a position in Sprint thinking I was smart stuff when it then went up, and then it got whacked.

Don’t know what’s going on in Europe, but it’s got equity markets scared.

Investing markets, PVX, sprint

Cree (CREE: chart, web, Y!) has been really good to my portfolio.  I’ve basically doubled my money which is probably a first for me.  (I’ve been halved, and halved again, but never doubled up).

So now I’m looking for the next opportunity.  It’s not that I’m turning on Cree, I just need another stock that has as much room to grow as Cree did when I did my first analysis on the company back in June of 2009.

In the spirit of “go with what you know”, I’m looking at Sprint (S: chart, web, Y!).

It’s not that I have any extensive knowledge of the company itself, but I do use their service (ever since I switched from Verizon in January).

Sprint has made a rough go of it in the wireless industry over the last several years.  Customer service has been at the top of the complaint list for many customers, and the Nextel acquisition turned out terribly.

What’s interesting is that the company is silently competitive.  While AT&T and Verizon are in a fierce advertisement battle, Sprint is the lower cost solution with competitive service and products.

Customer service is getting better, coverage is good and getting better, and the company is extensively developing a 4G network in a partnership with Clearwire.

Sprint announces first quarter earnings on Wednesday, and the expectation is that they’ll post another 300,000 subscribers.  Those will most likely be Nextel customers, and I suspect the CDMA side of the business will show a net gain in customers.

The expectation is that Sprint will post a $0.10 per share loss, and they’ll probably meet that expectation (I wouldn’t be surprised if the loss is greater than expected, either).

The silver lining.

Things are getting better.  The Nextel business is essentially dead, and the company will probably just let it die.  Customers (like me) are going to the low-cost solution and letting Verizon and AT&T spend the big bucks on television ads.

The company has a great future in the 4G segment, and will probably revolutionize the wireless industry.

CEO Dan Hesse is rational about the direction of the company; willing to spend money on R&D, and is realistic about the subscriber base.

My plans?

I’ll wait till the numbers come out on Wednesday.  There is more short-term downside potential than upside potential (i.e. through the next week or so after earnings).  That said, I’ll buy on an appreciable pull back under $4.

Investing, Stock Thoughts Dan Hesse, sprint

It’s tough for me to say anything negative about my Verizon Wireless (VZ: chart, web, Y!) service.

It’s always available and it’s been years since I’ve had a dropped call.  It even worked in the Caribbean when I was there on business early last year; so there is something to be said for “the network”.

The only complaint I have is the cost of the service itself in relation to the features provided.  For $59.99 per month (plus the $20 in taxes and fees) I get 550 minutes between my wife and I.  As I’ve mentioned before, we don’t even come close to using those minutes.

I suppose you could say I’m eager to see how these down economic times will shape not just technology, but pricing in the very near future.

I’d love to have something like a Blackberry, and Verizon would practically give me a device for free.  But the $70+ service is really driving me away, and that doesn’t include the additional money for the traditional cell phone service for my wife.

In a fairly recent issue of BusinessWeek, the big three in wireless service here in the United States are seeing competition accelerate as buyers of pricey services and phones have tightened their belts.

The article mentioned that the battle is heating up in wireless data service, and the desire to grow the market while bringing down prices.  AT&T (VZ: chart, web, Y!) for instance has an 8.6% share in wireless data, compared to 16.4% for Sprint (S: chart, web, Y!) and Verizon’s 10.9%.

Verizon tends to be a bit hamstrung by 45% stakeholder Vodafone (VOD: chart, web, Y!)  (popular in Europe) and Sprint has been facing a recurring challenge in attracting and retaining customers.  Service has been spotty, customer support lacking, and product lines have been thin.

AT&T on the other hand holds a 100% stake in wireless and has its fingers in a lot of different telecom markets (a la AT&T UVerse).  They’ve got a decent amount of cash and low capital requirements to maintain their infrastructure.

The Apple (AAPL: chart, web, Y!)  iPhone has almost reached cult status, and I have to admit, I’m not much of an Apple guy, but I love the idea of an iPhone (again, besides the service price) and own a iPod.

I’m going to continue watching how the AT&T vs. Verizon vs. Sprint battle plays out, but I think if prices start coming down and consumer spending starts going up, it may be worth buying some shares of AT&T.

Investing, Stock Thoughts, Technology AT&T, sprint, telecom, Verizon