BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY), formerly Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM), revamped its company name and its version of the smartphone when it announced the launch of BlackBerry 10 last week, an operating system compatible for touch-screen smartphones. As the company has suffered mightily in the mobile device space over the last several years – just about since the iPhone was introduced in 2007 – this seems to be the last stand for the company, if all of the buzz and marketing work by the company is any indication.
Does changing its name effect a change in fortunes for BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY)? Well it is still too early to tell for the Canada-based company, but some encouraging signs have come out from the U.K. launch last Thursday which has resulted in a couple of positive outlooks from analysts leading into the North America release of the new BlackBerry Tuesday in Canada. While returns are very early, there seems to be something impressive going on, as BlackBerry stock spiked 15 percent in trading Monday, closing at $14.98 per share.
Bernstein Research posted a noteworthy research note during the trading day Monday, lifting its price target on BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ:BBRY) stock from $12 to $22, slapping an “outperform” label on the stock. In his research note, analyst Pierre Ferragu said, “We have grown more confident in the likely success of the Blackberry 10 launch, supported by low channel inventories, strong operator support and material pent up demand. Initial feedback we have received from distributors on the first days of sales is particularly positive.”
This follows on a series of positive reviews for the new smartphone OS and handsets. What might other analysts say on the ground in the U.K., and what might this mean for the future of the company?
