Clearwire Shares Rise Sharply (CLWR)

Shares of Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR), a provider of fourth generation (4G) wireless broadband services, rallied in trading on Monday, extending its gains from last week.

CLWR shares finished the day 7.91% higher at $1.16 on above average volume of 20.38 million. The stock has now gained more than 28% in the last three trading sessions.

Clearwire shares have been gaining momentum after the company last week reported its second-quarter financial results.

For the second quarter of 2012, CLWR reported revenue of $316.9 million, down slightly over the previous year due to a year-over-year decline in wholesale revenue. The company’s second-quarter wholesale revenue of $117.6 million was flat on a sequential basis.

CLWR ended the second quarter of 2012 with 11 million total subscribers, representing an increase of 43% over the same period last year. The company’s subscriber base included 1.3 million retail subscribers and 9.6 million wholesale subscribers.

CLWR’s retail churn in the second quarter of 2012 was 4.4%, compared to 3.9% reported in the second quarter of 2011. The increase was mainly due to an increase in subscribers on no-contract plans, which were fully launched in the first quarter of 2012.

Clearwire reported adjusted EBITDA loss of $34.4 million for the second quarter of 2012, compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $79.6 million reported for the same period last year.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2012 was $143.2 million, or $0.28 per share, compared to net loss of $160.5 million, or $0.65 per share reported for the same period in the previous year.

Erik Prusch, President and CEO of Clearwire, last week said that network congestion and capacity issues have already forced most major operators to curb usage through data caps or speed limits, and the 4G boom has only just begun. Prusch said that CLWR believes unmatched spectrum portfolio and LTE roadmap are keys to unlocking the value of the company’s deep capacity resources and uniquely position the company to meet the short- and long-term needs of consumers and wholesale carrier partners.