BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $4.33, but opened at $4.81. BlackBerry shares last traded at $5.08, with a volume of 13,581,839 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $121.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.18 million. BlackBerry had a negative return on equity of 1.78% and a negative net margin of 13.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackBerry in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackBerry from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $3.75 target price on shares of BlackBerry in a report on Friday, June 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of BlackBerry from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of BlackBerry from $4.25 to $4.60 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $4.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Armstrong-Owen sold 29,940 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.99, for a total transaction of $89,520.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,770.02. This trade represents a 41.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,216 shares of company stock valued at $112,025. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BlackBerry

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackBerry in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in BlackBerry in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,000. Bravias Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in BlackBerry during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in BlackBerry during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in BlackBerry during the fourth quarter worth about $544,000. 54.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackBerry Stock Up 17.0%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $3.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $4.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.95 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackBerry Company Profile

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.

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