RIMM: Bulls Pounds The Table After Developer Conference

Research In Motion (RIMM) shares received a flurry of Street endorsements this morning, as at least three  bulls on the stock this morning issued upbeat notes following the company’s developer conference yesterday in San Francisco.

• RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky writes that announcements at the conference have narrowed the “perceived competitive gaps” versus rival smart phone platforms. The company unveiled an updated Web browser which is expected to ship early in 2010, demonstrated a new user interface, and announced new push, security and location-based services. RIMM also demonstrated Adobe Flash support on the BlackBerry. He notes that the new tools will allow for services like notifying users when friends are nearby. He says the combination of new offerings “may leapfrog” both the Apple (AAPL) iPhone, which can’t multi-task, and Android, which lacks the ability to do push applications. Abramsky maintains his Outperform rating.


• Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu likewise asserts that yesterday’s developments strengthen the company’s position in the app space, “leveraging its leading push network technology.” He notes that with new support for the OpenGL graphics standard, the BlackBerry can offer better games. Other new features will allow the ability to build location-aware, revenue generating apps including advertising, content push and enhanced GPS services. Wu maintains his Buy rating and $93 target, and asserts that the stock remains undervalued.


• Barclays Capital analyst Jeff Kvaal says checks find “very healthy” demand for the Curve 8520 and 8900 models in Western Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia; he says checks on the Storm 2 find demand is “solid,” though lagging behind the Motorola (MOT) Droid; he says sales are better in Europe. He notes that Bold 2 has launched with international carriers, and that AT&T launch is coming soon. Kvaal says that the stock at 12x consensus EPS for the February 2011 fiscal year “anticipate a miss.” Adds Kvaal: “very negative sentiment may yield to solid if not very strong fiscal Q3 results.” He keeps his Overweight rating and $90 target.

RIMM today is up $1.30, or 2.1%, to $62.86.