Shares of Sony Corp <6758.T> rose on Monday after the electronics maker said CEO Howard Stringer would double up as president and directly oversee the electronics division at the center of its problems.

The shake-up consolidates Stringer's control of the sprawling conglomerate and may make it easier to unite factions that analysts say have hindered its ability to develop hit products.

Shares of Sony rose 1.3 percent to 1,690 yen, rebounding from an opening 3.5 percent fall and outperforming the Nikkei average <.N225>, which was down 3.1 percent.

Nikko Citigroup raised its rating on Sony to buy/high risk from hold/high risk, citing expectations for accelerated restructuring after the management shake-up, and it raised its target price for Sony shares to 2,200 yen from 2,100 yen.

But other analysts including Credit Suisse's Koya Tabata were not convinced that the shift would automatically be a solution to Sony's problems such as growing inventory, a high cost structure and fragmented operations.

We remain unsure about whether consolidating control into the hands of Chairman Howard Stringer will change the business model significantly and fundamentally strengthen Sony's operations, Tabata wrote in a note to investors.

He kept his rating on Sony at underperform with a target price of 1,000 yen.

(Reporting by Mayumi Negishi and Nathan Layne; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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