Research In Motion Ltd/BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB), particularly its Qwerty-keyboard equipped smartphone, the BlackBerry Q10, is receiving positive comments from several Wall Street analysts. According to John Paczkowski of AllThingsD, analysts noted that the mobile device is selling better than expected.
Earlier this year, Thorstein Heinz, chief executive officer of Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB), expressed confidence that the company will sell tens of millions of BlackBerry Q10 devices.
The first analyst who commented on the good sales performance of the BlackBerry Q10 was Peter Misek of Jefferies following the launching of the product in Canada and the United Kingdom. He observed that the device was well-received in both countries, and more than 50 stores immediately sold out. Misek believes that sales of the BlackBerry Q10 will offset a slowdown in sales of previous model BlackBerry Z10.
Last month, analysts at National Bank Financial (NBF) observed that the Q10 smartphone carries high hopes for Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). NBF projected that the Canadian smartphone manufacturer might be able to sell 4 million BB10, and noted that the company is targeting corporate users with the Q10 device.
Andy Perkins, an analyst at Societe Generale, estimated that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) is capable of selling nearly 1 million Q10 devices for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The analyst also expects the Canadian smartphone manufacturer to sell 4 million units of Z10, which means the company will be able to sell approximately 5 million BB10 units in the first quarter. His estimate is higher than consensus expectations of Wall Street analysts at 3 million to 4 million units for the quarter. Perkins raised his rating for the stock from sell to buy.
On Friday, Maynard Um, analyst at Wells Fargo Equity Research, also released a positive review for Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) in a note to investors. According to Um, sales of the Q10 device could help the company beat expectations for its fiscal first quarter.
Um cited that Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB)’s sales for the Q10 is off to a good started based on his channel checks in the United States. He wrote, “[There has been] Good Q10 customer interest and demand. The Q10’s launch has been much more successful than the Z10 launch, which is consistent with our view that the die-hard BlackBerry installed base of 76 million loyal to the keyboard presents a strong upgrade opportunity.” However, he also said that the timing of the launching of the device in 14 countries in May and in the United States in June could limit its upsides over consensus estimates.
