Goldman Sachs still loves T-Mobile as the company continues to challenge top players in telecommunications. The bank called the wireless carrier a top pick and reiterated its buy rating on the stock. Its $194 per share price target implies upside of nearly 40% from Monday's close. Goldman analyst Brett Feldman highlighted the company's growing durable postpaid phone subscribers this year, which he noted touched 2.9 million halfway through 2023, compared with 3.1 million in 2022 despite the overall sector slowing. Feldman also said the company's plans to buy back $14 billion worth of stock is taking shape ahead of schedule, which was first announced in September 2022 and planned to run through September of this year. "We believe that TMUS likely sustained a fast pace of share purchases during the quarter, especially in June when the shares were pressured by media reports that Amazon may enter the wireless market," Feldman said. "As such, we see potential for TMUS to announce or provide insight into its next authorization with its 2Q23 earnings report." Shares of T-Mobile have slipped roughly 1.1% in 2023. Still, they're outperforming rivals Verizon and AT & T, which are down 10.8% and 17.1%, respectively. TMUS YTD mountain T-Mobile stock has slipped just above 1% this year. T-Mobile is slated to report earnings later this month. — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
