Research-In-Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) earnings are going to get better soon. And it is not entirely because the Blackberry is standard issue for most mobile business people. RIM's future is getting better because the economy is about to run up.
According to Barron's, "UBS analyst Jeffrey Fan upped his rating on Research In Motion to Buy from Neutral, and raised his rating on the shares to $90 from $65. His theory: the stock will be a good bet in an economic recovery." Fan sees an improvement in enterprise IT spending next year. He also believes that the Blackberry does not have much competition among business users.
RIM trades just below $73. Its path to $90 is not blocked so much by the economy as it is by the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. That device was considered a "consumer only" product until recently. But a large portion of the new applications being marketed by Apple are now aimed at business users.
Apple's new push for the iPhone is that it is "The best phone for business. Ever." Apple is marketing iPhone apps that include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Exchange and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) VPN products.
Apple has no intention of allowing RIM sales to improve, economic recovery or not.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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