RBC Raises Target Price for BlackBerry 10

By: Zain Nabi  |   January 24th, 2013   |   News

RBC Dominion Securities has raised target price for the BlackBerry 10, which is going to be launched on January 30, assuming that Research in Motion’s new smartphone is going to get a thrilling response from the market.

 

The reason behind increasing the target price from $11 to $19 is that the market is seemingly anticipating the product to be a hit initially. However, this does not guarantee overall success for the smartphone, as it will still be far away from Apple and Samsung that have captured the smartphone market.

 

According to The Globe and Mail, RBC analysts Mark Sue and Paul Treiber have written in their report that the competition for the BlackBerry 10 is still going to be very tough and RIM might have to offer some subsidiary if it wants to sustain in the longer run. The analysts wrote:

 

“Consumer and enterprise demand for BlackBerry 10 beyond diehard BlackBerry fans is unknown. Over the last several years, RIM has lost significant share in the global smartphone market, which may be challenging to re-capture. RIM’s enterprise users have been more resilient than consumers, but the trend toward bring-your-own device (BYOD) has opened up the market to iPhone and Android. Within emerging markets, Android is rapidly gaining share, with attractively priced entry-level devices.”

 

The point of offering subsidy is very important because high-end consumers, which are relatively fewer in the overall global market, might be able to afford the BlackBerry 10, but everyone would not get the taste of it. It is in the interest of RIM to reach a broader audience so as to make their new smartphone an instant hit. We are also hearing many reports that Apple, too, is planning on targeting a broader audience now owing to increase in the smartphone users worldwide. So, for RIM to do the same seems justified.

 

The analysts mentioned above expect RIM to ship around 500,000 BlackBerry 10 phones in February, while they also expect the company to ship around 10 million devices in the remaining fiscal year with new models and low prices.