Research in Motion will report its holiday earnings results today, but investors will be paying more attention to the outlook for 2009 on worries the struggling economy will hit sales.
Speculation over whether RIM’s results will start to lag this year have split analyst opinions. Some are predicting the worst while others say bad news has been priced into the company’s stock already.
“What we don’t think is priced in is what RIM would look like post this transition period,” Richard Tse of National Bank wrote in a research note. Tse has an “outperform” rating on the BlackBerry-maker’s stock, with a target of $60 US, about $15 higher than yesterday’s market price.
The outlook clashes with a dismal report from Veritas Investment Research that puts a “sell” rating on the stock with a target price of about $39, and a tough outlook on whether RIM can successfully endure the highly competitive consumer market.
Safe segment
• RIM has traditionally operated in the enterprise segment, selling phones to Wall Street firms and government institutions, where the market is less price conscious.
