Research In Motion (RIMM) BB10 Event: More Upside or Sell the News?
Investor sentiment into the event is sky-high with shares are up 152% from the September low of $6.22. Some are expected a "sell the news" reaction to the event, while others see continued momentum and upside.
Analysts at TD Securities note the set-up for the company is perfect given a lack of meaningful CES smartphone news, a lack of Mobile World Congress buzz, and of course Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) fall from grace. That said, given the amount of speculation and leaks, they wonder if any surprises could be in store. "App announcements/content deals would have the biggest impact," according to analyst Scott Penner. Also availability (recent speculation is North America on February 5), pricing (speculation is $149 on-contract pricing), will be important.
Still, Penner sees a Neutral impact from the event. "The uptrend related to the BlackBerry 10 product cycle anticipation and better sentiment could continue (Palm continued to rise another 50% post-launch before peaking four months into the webOS cycle). That being said, we have a negative fundamental bias to our neutral rating." Beyond positive near-term revision momentum, enterprise upgrades to BlackBerry 10 could be slower than some bullish expectations suggest.
The company will be broadcasting the BlackBerry 10 launch event via webcast at 10AM ET - http://www1.rim.com/newsroom.html
Shares of RIMM are up 2% to $15.97 into the event.