NCR Corp. shares climbed sharply this week after a Robert W. Baird and Co. analyst said banks' spending plans for automated teller machines have not been affected by the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market.
Baird's Reik Read upgraded NCR, to "outperform" from "neutral" after a survey report said 44% of the North American bank managers polled predicted ATM spending would increase at least 5% in 2008.
"It does not appear that sub-prime/credit issues are currently impacting ATM spending plans," Mr. Read wrote in a research note Tuesday.
He also predicted margin improvement from NCR's cost-cutting programs. The Dayton, Ohio, company has said it plans to remove as much as $200 million in costs through 2010, the analyst noted.
Mr. Read raised his 2008 earnings estimate by 2 cents to $1.54 a share. He now expects per-share earnings of $1.80 next year, up 7 cents from his previous estimate. The average estimate of six analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for earnings of $1.56 this year and $1.79 next.
NCR posted its biggest gain in four months after the note was released, climbing 4.9% Tuesday, to $27.06, and has held most of those gains. At midafternoon Thursday it was trading at $26.52, down 0.38% from Wednesday's closing price.
