Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) former co-CEO Jim Balsillie has sold the rest of his shares of the company, which some may see as a warning.
Shares of the company are up 5 percent in Thursday trading as analysts also issue cautionary reports about it. Analysts at National Bank Financial believe Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) won’t survive as a phone company.
Meanwhile Deutsche Bank AG (ETR:DBK) (FRA:DBK) (NYSE:DB) analysts have issued a report advising investors to hold on the stock right now.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Balsillie held a 5 percent stake in Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) back in December 2011, and he stepped down in early 2012 after expressing frustration with the company’s inability to pull back some of its market share from competitors.
Some investors see Balsillie’s exit from his stake in Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) right now as a sign that he does not believe the company’s new BlackBerry Z10 handset will do well. Balsillie’s sale of the stock was indicated in his recent regulatory filing.
In a report issued to investors today, Deutsche Bank AG (ETR:DBK) (FRA:DBK) (NYSE:DB) analysts said they just finished a new survey of carrier stores. They looked at 30 carrier stores in the U.K. and another 30 carrier stores in Canada. They said the picture was very different in the two areas.
Their research indicated that many stores in Canada seem to be sold out of the BlackBerry Z10. They also found that salespeople there tended to be very knowledgeable about the handset’s features, although they also said they didn’t receive very many units when the device first went on sale.
However in the U.K., the stores they checked were not sold out of the BlackBerry Z10. Also the salespeople there knew a little more about the phones than they did the week before.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank AG (ETR:DBK) (FRA:DBK) (NYSE:DB) are maintaining their Hold rating on shares of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) because they don’t believe their early research is indicating very strong sales. They said it appears as if Canada is “rooting for the home team;” unfortunately, the demand for the BlackBerry Z10 just isn’t as high in the U.K.
