Novatel: Canaccord Upgrades

Canaccord Geunity analyst T. Michael Walkley this morning raised his rating on Novatel Wireless (NVTL) to Hold from Sell. He thinks the company will benefit from the Verizon Wireless (VZ, VOD) launch of LTE service later this year.

“We believe Novatel Wireless is on track to deliver a 4G MiFi device in Q4 and should benefit from a ramp in LTE-based connectivity devices at Verizon,” he writes in a research note.� “While our checks indicate increasing competition and potential share losses for Novatel at this key carrier channel longer term, we believe it is well positioned through its relationships with Qualcomm (QCOM) and Verizon to capture meaningful share of the potentially large LTE product cycle at Verizon over the next several quarters.”

The analyst raised his 2011 pro forma EPS estimate to 34 cents, from 6 cents. For 2010, he now sees a loss of 32 cents, versus a loss of 33 cents previously.