And, as with any sudden development in the market, money pros look for opportunity to profit. Here where the Fast Money traders see opportunity:
Although it may seen obvious that AT&T will be hurt, OptionMonster Jon Najarian thinks rival Verizon loses too—because consolidation in telecom would have generated pricing power.
And on the plus side, Najarian thinks wireless infrastructure firms such as American Tower , Crown Castle and SBA Communications win. “Having 4 customers is always better than 3,” he says with a smile. And if you’re looking for another winner, Najarian suggests Clearwire .
Trader Steve Grasso thinks the winner is Sprint . However, before establishing a long position he suggests looking at the chart.
”$3.79 is the sticky price in the stock,” he says. “I would not add to my position unless it holds this key technical retracement level,” he says.
But that doesn’t mean he’s negative, he’s not. Grasso adds its possible that fundamentals push Sprint through resistance because, “Sprint has other things going for it including partnership with Cablevision .”
Zach Karabell just can’t get behind a long position in Sprint. “They’re still bleeding customers,” he says. However, he does like the tower plays mentioned by Jon Najarian.
Both Steve Cortes and Patty Edwards aren’t concerned that developments will drag down Verizon significantly. In fact, they suggest the pullback may present an opportunity. “As far as I’m concerned Verizon is a buy for its dividend yield of about 5.4%,” says Cortes. “And looking at fundamentals, “they provide very good service,” adds Edwards.