Analysts cut targets on Research In Motion; New phones not enough

“The Street continues this morning to review the implications of Research in Motion’s (RIMM) announcement yesterday that it will offer five new phones later this month running on an updated version of its operating system,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s.

“Jefferies & Co.’s Peter Misek today cut his price target on the shares to $22 from $24, while reiterating an Underperform rating, arguing that ‘handset shipments will be worse than expected in the November quarter [RIM’s fiscal Q3] despite the sell-in of new OS 7 handsets,'” Ray reports. “Basically, the units won’t get enough push from carriers, he thinks: ‘Preliminary reviews of the handsets cite improved speed but a browsing experience still inferior to Android and iOS. We do not believe carriers will put extensive marketing dollars behind the new handsets.'”

Ray reports, “Meantime, Sterne Agee’s Shaw Wu this morning reiterates a Neutral rating on RIMM, and cut his price target to $23 from $27… Wu cut his estimate for this year to $20.7 billion in revenue and $5.10 in EPS, down from $20.9 billion and $5.15. The Street is modeling $20.6 billion and $5.19 per share. For fiscal 2013, he cut his numbers to $23.4 billion and $5.30 per share from a prior $24.1 billion and $5.70 per share.”

Read more in the full article here.
 

7 Comments

  1. Here’s an idea, maybe a CRAZY idea;

    Perhaps instead of 5 new phones (or ten, or twenty), RIM should concentrate on designing and producing just one really, really, good phone – one phone that utilizes innovative design and technology, and does things other phones can’t even begin to replicate, and yet, things that every phone user will say, “Wow! I can’t believe I ever used a phone before, without this ease-of-use and functionality!”.

    Eh?!
    Eh?!
    Am I nuts?!!

  2. Maintains a “neutral” rating…that’s funny. And that is also why you cannot trust analysts. They lag on the upside, overshoot at the top, and lag on the downside. The best way to lose money is to follow the advice of an analyst.

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