NEW YORK (AP) ? Shares of Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the BlackBerry, climbed Friday after an analyst said the stock seemed to have finally found its bottom after two weeks ago hitting its lowest level since 2006.
THE SPARK: Peter Misek at Jefferies & Co. on Friday upgraded the stock to “Hold” from “Underperform,” and raised his price target from $22 to $25.
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.
SHARE ACTION: Shares of the Waterloo, Ontario, company rose $1.33, or 5.2 percent, to $27.09 in afternoon trading. They hit a five-year low of $21.60 on Aug. 8.