BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) received an upgrade from Oppenheimer, in a research note issued on Monday. Analysts have upgraded the Canadian smart phone maker from an Underperform rating to a Market Perform rating.
Overall rating of Hold
In last month or so, many analysts have come out with their verdict on BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB). Most recently in a research note on Friday, analysts at Zacks have maintained their Neutral rating on the stock, and have assigned BlackBerry stock with a price target of $7.75. Analysts at Nomura in a research note published on March 31, have raised their price target on BlackBerry from $7.00 to $9.00 and the firm’s analysts now have a Hold rating on the stock. In a research note on March 31, analysts at Needham & Company LLC upgraded the Canadian firm from an Underperform rating to a Hold rating.
Overall, eleven analysts have a Sell rating on BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB), eighteen have assigned it a Hold rating, two analysts have a Buy recommendation on the stock while only one gave a Strong Buy rating to the smart phone maker. BlackBerry has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $8.45.
Also, analysts at the TheStreet have given a Sell rating to BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) with a ratings score of D. According to TheStreet Ratings Team, their rating is driven by “some concerns, which they believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover.”
Short interest in BlackBerry up
BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) saw a significant increase in the short interest, in April. As on April 15th, total short positions amounted to 102,472,527 shares, which is an increase of 3.2% from the 99,334,950 shares as of March 31st. On the basis on an average daily trading volume of 14,416,467 shares, BlackBerry has a days-to-cover ratio of 7.1 days.
Based on the change in the quarterly net income year over year, the Canadian firm is well below the numbers of the S&P 500 and the Computers & Peripherals industry. The net income for the company has declined by 531.6% from 98 million to -$423 million. Net operating cash flow for BlackBerry has declined to -$564 million or 368.57% from the same quarter, last year. Return on equity for the company has also declined significantly over the last year, and it is well below the industry average and the S&P 500.
At 11 am EDT, BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) shares were up 1.92% at $7.42.
