"RIM Fundamentals Remain Strong" -Piper Jaffray (RIMM)

Piper Jaffray raises its price target on Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) from $112 to $117 and maintains a Neutral rating.

The firm cites its March channel checks indicating that Research In Motion's BlackBerry continues to see strong sell-through trends at the four largest U.S. carriers: AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon. Piper Jaffray expects Research In Motion to report earnings at the high-end of its guidance and in-line with the firm's estimates of $1.87 billion in revs and EPS of $0.70.

In addition to strong sell-through trends, Piper also believes that lower channel inventory levels and the upcoming launches of the Curve at Sprint and Verizon could lead to higher device sell-in estimates for the May quarter. Piper said it was raising its expectations from 4.6 million to 4.9 million units.

Piper said "While our checks indicated a sluggish overall U.S. market in Q108, we believe BlackBerry continues to gain share from Motorola and overall RIM fundamentals remain strong."

The firm raised its FY09 and FY10 EPS estimates on Research In Motion from $3.40 to $3.59 and from $4.49 to $4.67, respectively. The Street consensuses are $2.24 and $3.46, respectively.

Research In Motion Limited engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of wireless solutions for the mobile communications market worldwide. [BCS]

You May Also Be Interested In

• Freedom Broker Downgrades Workday (WDAY) to Hold
• Baird on AECOM Technology (ACM): 'Underlying design demand, International margins, and market share gains remain good'
• Elastic NV. (ESTC) PT Raised to $100 at Cantor Fitzgerald on Expanding Group Multiples