Research In Motion (RIMM) Shares Trading Higher Ahead of Tomorrow's Q1 Results

Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq: RIMM) are trading higher today ahead of the company's first quarter earnings, expected after the market closes on June 24, 2010. Shares are up 2.9% to $60.36.

The company is expected to report EPS of $1.34 on revs of $4.35 billion. Last quarter, RIMM reported EPS of $1.27 and revs of $3.46 billion, both short of views. Last year, for Q109, the company reported adjusted EPS of $0.98 and revs of $3.42 billion, both topping Street views. This quarter's EPS estimate suggests a 38% increase from the same period last year.

Shares have dropped through the quarter, falling 14% to end up at $60.69 on May 28, 2010. The stock is also down about 9.3% YTD.

Data from Bloomberg shows that 35 analysts have a Buy rating on the shares, 12 have a Hold, and 6 suggest to Sell the shares. The analyst price target average is $88, with a high of $110, and a low of $55.

Analyst Ratings Through the Quarter
Early in March, ahead of Q4 earnings, Canaccord Adams raised their price target on RIMM to $100, while maintaining their Buy rating.

BMO Capital upgraded the shares from Market Perform to Outperform, with a price target also increased from $70 to $88.

Broadpoint.AmTech increased their price target from $80 to $90, reiterating a Buy on the stock.

Late March had J.P. Morgan upgraded from Neutral to Overweight, raising their price target to $84.

April, Goldman Sachs downgraded RIMM to Sell following Q4 results. The firm cut their price target from $73 to $65. They then lowered their price target to $56 at the end of May.

Cowen downgraded from Neutral to Underperform in May.

Finally, MKM Partners added RIMM to their Focus List. The firm maintained a Buy rating and $87 price target on shares.

Summary
Kaufman thinks that RIMM will produce decent results for the quarter, either meeting or slightly missing consensus estimates. They believe that, although guidance may be weak, the news is already priced in to the shares. Kaufman has a Buy rating, and $93 price target on the stock.

Piper Jaffray currently has a Neutral rating on the shares, and a price target of $66 going into Q1 earnings. They see international sales offsetting any share losses in North America. They see the quarter being bolstered by strong CDMA Bold sales for Verizon and Sprint.

Hapoalim Securities thinks that the Street in underestimating RIMM's holding in the smartphone market, their ability to gain market share internationally, or the growth of the smartphone market itself. They have an EPS estimate of $1.39 on the shares, and expect RIMM to report revs of $4.4 billion. RIMM's average price through the quarter increased 26%, compared to flat for Apple, and just a material increase out of other vendors.

Research In Motion Ltd. is expected to release their Q110 earnings on Thursday, June 24, 2010, at approximately 4:00pm EDT. Stay tuned to StreetInsider.com's Earnings section to see our analysis of the highly-anticipated quarterly results within seconds of their release.

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