Nextel Communications hit 92 in a series of two $5 million trades last week. Levels have waffled in the 92-93 range for the past two weeks, topping off at 933/ 4 most recently (LMW, 9/2). With the heavy activity in the name, dealers say it's hard to pinpoint why Nextel's debt trades on a certain week. "Just more buyers coming in and exposure management," said one. "As the stock market slides, Nextel may come down a bit." The telecommunications company is based in Reston, Va. Calls to Timothy Donahue, cfo, were referred to a spokeswoman, Karen Fay, who did not return calls.
Other market players theorize that with VoiceStream Communications' debt paid off two weeks ago, investors are putting their money back into Nextel. "People are saying it's a good replacement," one trader remarked. "There are very polar views on the credit, but at the end of the day it has great brand identification and it's a strong network."