Hot stock to watch: BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Limited (RIMM) opened lower at $7.78, once touched $7.34, hitting a 52-week low, then moved down and finally closed at $7.39 per share. Over the past weeks, RIMM stock traded as high as $33.54. In the prior day’s trading, RIMM stock price also tumbled almost 20%.
A group of analysts including analysts from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Societe Generale Bank, Scotia Capital and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), issued research reports, downgrading RIMM stock to “Sell” rating or equivalent level. In addition, analysts also cut the respective target on RIMM stock price, and the lowest target reached $5.
RIMM released financial performance late Thursday, showing a net loss of $518 million, or $0.99 per share; excluding goodwill impairment expenditure, net loss was $192 million, or 37 cents per share, significantly higher than the consensus estimate of analysts. According to the survey by Thomson Reuters, analysts on average had expected RIMM would post a net loss of $0.01 per share, on revenue of $3.1 billion for the first quarter.
In addition, RIMM also announced it will cut 5,000 jobs; BlackBerry 10 phone will be postponed to release in the first quarter of 2013.
Also read RIMM stock price plummeted in after-hours trading as poor news.