Research In Motion rose Thursday after Goldman Sachs upgraded the phone
maker's shares, saying there's a "30 percent chance" RIM's much-delayed
BlackBerry 10 smartphones will be a success.
The sparkGoldman
Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski lifted RIM to "Buy" from "Neutral," the
latest analyst to voice a slightly more optimistic view for the troubled
company. Goldman lifted its 12-month price target to $16 from $9.
The big pictureRIM
was once Canada's most valuable company, with a market value of more
than $80 billion in 2008, but shares have sunk due to ground lost to
Apple Inc.'s iPhone and phones running Google Inc.'s Android system.
Now
the company's new BlackBerrys, expected sometime after Jan. 30, are
considered critical to its survival. The new system includes a touch
screen and the apps experience that customers now expect.
The analysis
Jankowski
noted positive early reviews for the new operating system and
broad-based support by carriers who are looking to sell a third
operating system beyond Google's Android and Apple's iOS.
She
predicted that RIM will become profitable in the year ending in February
2014. Analysts polled by FactSet expect a loss. Still, she expects RIM
to revert to a loss the next year.
Last week, National Bank
Financial Kris Thompson increased his price target to $15 from $12,
while Jefferies analyst Peter Misek doubled his price target from $5 to
$10, saying the BlackBerry 10 operating system has a 20 to 30 percent
chance of succeeding.
Share action
Shares of Research In
Motion added 67 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $11.77 in midday trading on
the Nasdaq. The stock is up 78 percent since late September - but it's
down 23 percent this year through Wednesday's close, and has lost more
than 90 percent from its 2008 high.