BlackBerry’s shares (now BBRY) rose nearly 6 percent in trading before the opening bell today after a firm Bernstein Research said it was upgrading the stock to “outperform” after the January 30 launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system and smartphones.
The brokerage firm, which has not had an “outperform” rating on the stock for over three years, also lifted its price target to $22 from $12, saying it has grown more confident in the likely success of the devices, which are powered by the new Blackberry 10 operating system.
“We upgrade Blackberry to outperform today as we believe BB 10 is set for a strong launch,” Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu said in a note to clients. “Even if the long-term prospects for the platform are very uncertain, we believe all is in place for BlackBerry 10 to enjoy a great debut.”
BlackBerry introduced its new line of smartphones to much fanfare on Wednesday. However, its stock fell more than 10 percent following the launch as investors were disappointed that its new smartphones will only go on sale in the crucial U.S. market in mid-March.
BlackBerry bet everything on BlackBerry 10 and it seems to all be paying off. As the BlackBerry 10 reaches people’s hands worldwide, I hope to see a fair climb in market share.
Sources: Reuters