BlackBerry Ltd 3Q Results: All Waiting For Priv Numbers

BlackBerry will release its third quarter financial results for fiscal 2015 on Dec. 18. All eyes will be on the performance of the Canadian firm’s latest Android handset, which will decide the fate of its handset business.

Priv’s performance will be the decider

BlackBerry will hold a conference call and webcast at 8 a.m. Eastern, and for those who missed it, a replay of the live broadcast will be available for another two weeks until Jan. 3. There are reports that the Canadian firm might pull out of the device market depending on the failure and success of the Priv, a high-end slider smartphone.

BlackBerry’s Q2 results were not very impressive. For the last quarter, the Canadian firm reported a loss $66 million and sold only 800,000 devices – a number that Apple and Samsung manage over a single weekend.

Gold-plated BlackBerry Priv

All eyes are on the BlackBerry Priv, which undoubtedly is a beautiful smartphone. The sleek-looking device offers a premium feel, and now Karalux, a Vietnamese gold-plating shop, is taking the rich feel of the device to the next level.

Karalux has come up with a 24K gold-plated BlackBerry Priv. The rear panel, camera module, screen bezel and side buttons are all plated in gold. The device will soon hit the company’s online store. Prior to the Priv, Karalux has launched gold-plated versions of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and many other devices.

Consensus rating of Hold

Many analysts have released their verdicts on BlackBerry in recent months. In a note last week, Zacks analysts upgraded the stock from Strong Sell to Hold. In a report on Nov. 2, Vetr analysts raised their rating on the Canadian firm from Hold to Buy with a price target of $8.06. Morgan Stanley, in a report on Sept. 8, reissued an Equal Weight rating on the stock with a price target of $7. In a report on Oct. 19, Macquarie analysts lowered their price target on the Canadian firm from $8 to $7. Presently, Blackberry has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $8.70.

On Friday, BlackBerry shares closed up 0.65% at $7.76. Year to date, the stock is down by over 29%, while in the last one month, it is down by over 3%.