Positive Asian Demand Checks for Blackberry

Anecdotal evidence may give Blackberry shares a lift.

Iain Butler ❯

Chief Investment Advisor, Motley Fool Canada Fool since November 2012 Iain Butler, CFA, is Lead Advisor on Discovery Canada 2017. He is also the Chief Investment Advisor for Motley Fool Canada and is the lead advisor on its flagship Stock Advisor Canada product. Before joining the Fool, Iain was a “buy-side” analyst and through this experience is well-versed in the idiosyncratic ways of the Canadian market. His investing interests are centred on scouring the market for interesting businesses that trade at reasonable prices and offer an appealing risk/reward relationship. Since joining the Fool in 2012, Iain dedicates each day to spreading Foolishness throughout this great country!

Published April 16, 2013 6:55 am EDT

One of the stocks that was up in yesterday’s crazed sell-off was Blackberry (TSX:BB,NASDAQ:BBRY). With no direct tie to gold or any other commodity, this seems rationale. A note from bullish Jeffries analyst Peter Misek could mean shareholders are in for another green day.

In the note, Misek provided the 4 following comments:

Build plans for the new Q10 (keyboard) have increased steadily since February from 2 million/month to 2 million +
2-3 additional BB10 models are expected to be released in the second half of 2013
Anecdotal demand checks in Asia were strong, particularly in Indonesia where Apple-like lines of 1,000+ had formed when the Z10 launched.
He sees no evidence of the elevated return rates that hit the press last week. In addition, the most common reason for return that he found was that the user thought the device had a keyboard, not that the interface was too confusing. Those returning the device because of the keyboard issue will buy the Q10 instead when available.

One other bit found on a site named “Rapid Berry – The Number 1 Dedicated UK Blackberry Site” (just so you know where the bias lies), indicated that Q10 pre-orders have “massively” exceeded Z10 orders prior to its launch. This at least helps to support the higher build rate that Misek mentioned.

Foolish Takeaway

To be clear, there is no hard evidence provided by any of these points. Because there are still very few numbers to play with that pertain to the new products, Blackberry continues to be nothing more than a gamble and its shares should be treated as such.

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Fool contributor Iain Butler does not own shares in any of the company’s mentioned. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above.