May 12--This year's Star 50 rankings may have caught Sprint Nextel Corp. at a bad time.

Although its ranking jumped 10 places from a disappointing previous showing, Sprint appears to be better poised for next year's annual rankings.

One big boost has come since the new year began. Investors have bid Sprint shares up nearly threefold.

Sprint's stock market value and revenues traditionally dwarfed others in the Star 50 universe, ensuring it a No. 1 rank in at least two of the six categories.

But last year's stock plunge knocked it out of the largest market value rank, making it second to H&R Block Inc.

The plunge also left Sprint near the bottom of the rankings for growth in market value.

At 51st, it had lost 86 percent of its value. Hardly anywhere to go from there but up.

The damage is being undone by this year's market surge.

A 196 percent gain in shares so far has restored Sprint's market value to the top. And shares have had reason to rally. The company's first-quarter performance, although showing a struggle, posted noteworthy progress.

Customer service has made strides, prepaid customers have increased, and the economy should be less of a hurdle as the year progresses.

Sprint's challenges, however, remains ahead of it, said Will Power, senior analyst for wireless communications at Robert W. Baird & Co. In particular, it continues to lose its more profitable calling plan customers to larger rivals.

"Turning that business around is critical to the long-term health of the company," Power said.

The stock market hasn't been kind to this year's Star 50 winner, H&R Block.

Its shares have tumbled by about a third since the Star 50 readings were taken at the end of 2008. Its market decline has been driven principally by a disappointing tax season.

For the other top 10 Star 50 companies, this year has been a mixed bag when it comes to stock performances.

No. 2 O'Reilly Automotive Inc. and No. 4 Cerner Corp. have both gained on Wall Street this year.

But No. 3 Compass Minerals International Inc. and No. 6 Great Plains Energy Inc. have tumbled.

No Star 50 company had posted a greater gain in market value last year than American Italian Pasta Co. But the pasta maker has hardly stopped its climb. Shares have risen 43 percent this year, through Monday's closing price.

Analyst Tim Raney at D.A. Davidson & Co. said the company had found a "triple threat" in this troubled economy.

First, with consumers buying more pasta, their dollars also gravitated toward the less-expensive store brands, mostly filled with American Italian products.

Third, more of those pasta dollars are being spent at Wal-Mart, which gets its pasta from American Italian and recently gave more shelf space to its private-label lines, Ramey said.

"Whether lucky or smart, they are really well positioned," he said.

To reach Mark Davis, call 816-234-4372 or send e-mail to mdavis@kcstar.com.

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