Dishing on Dish

Shares of Dish Network fell by more than $1 on Mar. 4, to 20.59, after a U.S. appeals court ruled the satellite subscription service is still in violation of a TiVo (TIVO) patent. Dish argued that it had changed its technology enough to avoid infringement, but TiVo claimed the changes weren't sufficient; Tivo's shares are up 67%. The ruling may sound bad for Dish, but independent analyst outfit Collins Stewart reacted by upping its rating of the company's shares. It expects that most of the negative impact of the judgment is priced in and that shares could climb as high as 30 over the next 12 months. "We see this ruling as the last major obstacle because the company's fundamental turnaround is well under way," the report said. Analysts at Credit Suisse (CS) agreed, noting that closure on the litigation "is ultimately a good thing for Dish and should serve to remove an overhang on the shares." They estimate the stock is worth 25.