Buy Qualcomm (QCOM) on Nokia's (NOK) Microsoft (MSFT) Deal Says Credit Agricole

The realization of the tremendous benefit Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) gets from the decision by Nokia (NYSE:NOK) to use Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone 7 platform for the smartphones is growing, and Credit Agricole analyst Srini Pajjuri is the latest to encourage investors to buy the company.

According to Pajjuri, after industry checks he sees Qualcomm having a head start of about a year over competitors Broadcom (BRCM) and ST Microelectronics (STM) and Texas Instruments (TXN) in supporting Windows Phone 7.

Specifically noted by Pajjuri was support for software and baseband drivers, as well as "other peripherals such as audio and other interfaces," according to Barron's.

Separately, the announcement by Qualcomm it will offer the Snapdragon 8060 chip for tablets is good news for the company as well, as it won't include a baseboard modem in it, which should generate more sales.

Credit Agricole raised their rating on Qualcomm from "Underperform" to "Outperform." They also raised their full year revenue estimates from $13.71 billion to $13.86 billion. Full year EPS estimates were boosted from $2.94 to $3.02.