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Firm says 90% chance BlackBerry 10 flops

Updated Feb 25th, 2013 11:12AM EST
BlackBerry 10 Sales

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Industry watchers are still mixed on whether or not BlackBerry (BBRY) can pull off the incredible comeback it is currently attempting. Some big firms are seeing signs of life while others maintain their position that BlackBerry is a sinking ship. Count Connecticut-based equity research firm MKM Partners in the latter category. In a recent note to clients, MKM analyst Michael Genovese cut his outlook on BlackBerry shares and said there is now a 90% chance BlackBerry 10 will flop.

“We have been testing the Z10 and like the operating system, especially the touchscreen BB10 keyboard predictive text functionality, but we do not think it is differentiated enough to save the brand,” Genovese wrote. “The Z10 hardware seems bulky and heavy, but the biggest problem by far is the lack of available applications for BB10.”

The analyst says that based on his digging, fewer than 10% of the top-100 Android apps and fewer than 5% of the most popular iPhone apps are available on BlackBerry’s new platform. “Not a single top-50-grossing app on Android or the iPhone can be acquired for the Z10,” Genovese noted.

MKM cut its rating on BlackBerry shares from Neutral to Sell with a $10 price target, down from $12.

“Our new price target reflects the lower probability of success we attribute to BlackBerry 10 following our testing of the Z10 and observing BB10’s momentum stall out in the U.K. after only a few weeks,” Genovese wrote. “We reduce the estimated probability that BB10 will be a success and the stock will appreciate to $40 to 10% from 15% and increase the estimated probability that BB10 will fail and the stock will decline to $7 to 90% from 85%.”

MKM now sees February-quarter BlackBerry Z10 channel sales totaling 400,000 units, down from its earlier estimate of 1.5 million.[bgr-post-bug]

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.