Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. ended up on Friday and at least one analyst thinks we may have found the bottom. RIM shares have been dropping like a rock recently due to obvious competition factors from Google and Apple, but according to ABCNEWs, when Peter Misek of Jefferies & Co. upgraded the stock from "Hold" to "Underperform," the market took notice. Will this trend continue? Only time will tell but at least it is a tiny bit of good news for RIM.
A lot of people still like their BlackBerrys so the thought of RIM totally disappearing is unlikely. If they are not careful however, they could end up largely irrelevant as Apple and Google start to peel away customers in favor of iOS and Android. So far, the BlackBerry's tactile keyboard has kept some customers coming back to RIM. It remains to be seen how long this will last though. Do you still favor BlackBerry ove Android and iOS? Tell us why in the comments.
THE ANALYSIS: Misek said he doesn't see a full-fledged turnaround for the company, which is losing out in the phone market to Apple Inc.'s iPhone and smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software.
Instead, he's re-evaluated the sum of the company's parts. A bidding war for Nortel's patents and Google's bid to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. largely for its patents points to RIM's patents being worth $2 billion, more than Misek previously thought. He combines this with the company's net cash, the value of a breakeven hardware business and a BlackBerry subscription services business being run as a "cash cow" to arrive at the $25 valuation.
Instead, he's re-evaluated the sum of the company's parts. A bidding war for Nortel's patents and Google's bid to buy Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. largely for its patents points to RIM's patents being worth $2 billion, more than Misek previously thought. He combines this with the company's net cash, the value of a breakeven hardware business and a BlackBerry subscription services business being run as a "cash cow" to arrive at the $25 valuation.
A lot of people still like their BlackBerrys so the thought of RIM totally disappearing is unlikely. If they are not careful however, they could end up largely irrelevant as Apple and Google start to peel away customers in favor of iOS and Android. So far, the BlackBerry's tactile keyboard has kept some customers coming back to RIM. It remains to be seen how long this will last though. Do you still favor BlackBerry ove Android and iOS? Tell us why in the comments.
