BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) Stock Price Up 13.1% Following Strong Earnings

BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB) shot up 13.1% during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $3.41 and last traded at $3.37. 3,255,342 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 9,528,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.98.

The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.03. BlackBerry had a negative net margin of 21.66% and a negative return on equity of 3.38%. The company had revenue of $143.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on BlackBerry from $3.00 to $3.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of BlackBerry from $3.50 to $3.60 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on BlackBerry from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities upgraded BlackBerry from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of BlackBerry from $2.80 to $3.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Philip S. Kurtz sold 15,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.53, for a total transaction of $37,962.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,226.37. This represents a 33.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackBerry

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of BlackBerry by 83.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 11,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 5,349 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in BlackBerry by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 267,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 7,652 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BlackBerry by 60.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 20,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 7,842 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in BlackBerry by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 22,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 9,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of BlackBerry by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 130,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 9,156 shares in the last quarter. 54.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackBerry Stock Up 16.8 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $2.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.92 and a beta of 1.43.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry Limited provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Cybersecurity, IoT, and Licensing and Other. The company offers CylanceENDPOINT, an integrated endpoint security solution; CylanceGUARD, a managed detection and response solution; CylanceEDGE, an AI-powered continuous authentication zero trust network access solution; CylanceINTELLIGENCE, a contextual cyber threat intelligence service; BlackBerry Dynamics offers a development platform and secure container for mobile applications; BlackBerry Workspaces a secure Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS) solution; BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) Enterprise, an enterprise-grade secure instant messaging solution for messaging, voice and video; BlackBerry SecuSUITE is a certified, multi-OS voice and text messaging solution; BlackBerry AtHoc, a secure networked critical event management solution; and BlackBerry unified endpoint management (UEM) solutions.