Synchronoss Shares Jump After Upgrade

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Synchronoss Technologies Inc. got a boost Thursday after a Thomas Weisel Partners analyst upgraded the company, calling it "undervalued and overlooked" by investors.

Synchronoss provides transaction management software for communications companies. Analyst Tom Roderick raised his rating on the company to "Overweight" from "Market Weight" and raised his target price to $17 from $15.

"We believe that the (2010) growth prospects for the company are brighter than we had previously given the company credit for, and we see various catalysts emerging over the course of the next 12 months," Roderick wrote in a note to investors.

The analyst said the company's growth prospects next year will likely get a boost from a rejuvenated cable TV sector. Earlier this year the company extended its relationship with Time Warner, Roderick said, where Synchronoss is now providing activation and support for all of the company's e-commerce programs. The analyst said he thinks Wall Street overlooked the importance of this relationship.

"(We) anticipate that a visible e-commerce push by Time Warner will boost Synchronoss' pipeline of business among other installed cable customers like Cablevision, Comcast and Charter," Roderick said.

Shares of the Bridgewater, N.J.-based company rose $1.49, or 14 percent, to $12.04 in afternoon trading. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $5.51 and $14.45.