As shares of Sprint (S) continue to trade sharply lower amidst reports its talks with T-Mobile US (TMUS) about a merger have run into snags, Jennifer Fritzsche of Wells Fargo this afternoon steps in to defend the company against charges it badly needs a deal.

As mentioned earlier, a report from CNBC said the company’s parent, SoftBank (9984JP), increasingly has issues with the control that would be wielded over a combined company by T-Mo parent Deutsche Telekom (DTE). And a report from Nikkei Asia Reviewprior to that said...