NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Motorola Inc. reported flat earnings for the third quarter Monday, but the results topped Wall Street forecasts and the cell phone maker's stock rallied on the news.

The No. 2 maker of wireless phone handsets earned $132 million, or 6 cents a share, excluding special items, compared with the $133 million, or 6 cents a share, on the same basis a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had a consensus earnings-per-share forecast of 3 cents.

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Shares of Motorola (MOT: Research, Estimates) gained 8 cents, or 0.6 percent, to close at $13.89 Monday, after hitting a new 52-week high of $14.40 earlier in the day.

The company released results a day earlier than scheduled because of an announcement late Friday by credit rating agency Moody's that it had downgraded Motorola's rating to just one notch above so-called "junk bond" status. Moody's said the downgrade was due to "concerns that revenue growth and a return to meaningful levels of profitability would remain challenged."

"Despite significant cost reduction efforts, margin improvement across most operating units is expected to be modest," Moody's said.

Motorola said it was releasing results early "to provide investors a more complete perspective as they evaluate their view of the company." It planned an after-market conference call with investors Monday to discuss its results and outlook in more detail.

Analysts were satisfied with the third-quarter results, particularly in cell phones, but remain wary about that unit's outlook for the fourth quarter, traditionally the industry's strongest season.

"This is the same company that reported strong [cell-phone order] numbers on the surface last year this time and then managed to come out about a quarter later and say there was too much inventory out there," said Alex Vallecillo, senior portfolio manager of Armada Funds.

"Guys like me are probably going to take a little bit of a wait-and-see attitude," added Vallecillo, who does not own shares in the company but follows it closely.

Third-quarter sales rose to $6.8 billion from $6.5 billion, coming in a shade better than the $6.4 billion forecast by analysts polled by First Call.

Motorola also said it expects fourth-quarter EPS excluding special items of 11 to 15 cents. First Call forecasts 12 cents, and the company earned 13 cents a share a year ago. The company said revenue should be $7.5 billion to $7.8 billion, compared with $7.7 billion a year earlier and a First Call forecast of $7.4 billion.