Jefferies Reiterates Buy Rating, $18 PT On LEAP

Jefferies is reiterating its Buy rating and $18 PT on shares of Leap Wireless International LEAP. “LEAP reported 4Q10 results incl. service revs of $636mm and adj. EBITDA of $107mm,” Jefferies writes. “LEAP reported ARPU of $38.46 or an improvement of $0.32 over 3Q10 as the company is beginning to reap the benefits from the migration to the new service plans and the growth in higher-end handsets. “During the quarter, LEAP disclosed that during December, 40% of new handset sales were smartphones and almost 10% of the base now has a smartphone plan. The company expects the trend to continue into 1Q as upgrade activity is expected to continue at elevated levels.” Leap Wireless International closed Tuesday at $13.16.