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Why Globalstar Stock Just Rocketed 39%

By Rich Smith – Updated Jan 8, 2021 at 2:15PM

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Nokia saves the day.

What happened

Satellite communications stock Globalstar (GSAT 2.86%) was up 39.1% at 1:30 p.m. EST on Friday after announcing a new collaboration with Nokia (NOK 1.75%).

Globalstar announced Thursday evening that Nokia has entered into an agreement with Tideworks Technology, which provides terminal operating systems, to deploy Globalstar's Band 53 spectrum at the Port of Seattle.

Cartoon rocket zooming up like a stock on a chart

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

This is the second collaboration between Globalstar and Nokia at a United States port, Globalstar said, noting that Nokia is part of a group of priority partners that it worked with to develop the Band 53 ecosystem. That would seem to give Nokia a vested interest in patronize Globalstar over other potential providers. 

Now what

Whatever the reason, this latest agreement bodes well for continued deals with Nokia, the Finnish telecom giant -- and maybe even implies revenue growth for Globalstar in the future.

I'm still not optimistic at all about Globalstar's stock valuation: 66 times free cash flow seems a rather rich price to pay for a company that (before this announcement at least) has shown little ability to grow its revenue. Also, whatever the potential, Globalstar was thunderously silent about what the Nokia deal means for future revenue and profits. But today, that seems like the minority view.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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