Q10 could give BlackBerry a huge boost

Shares of BlackBerry received another small boost on Friday following an upbeat report about the company’s latest smartphone. Maynard Um of Walls Fargo, per AllThingsD, claims that sales of the BlackBerry Q10 are better than expected and could help the company beat Wall Street’s expectations for the fiscal first quarter. The analyst noted that “channel checks” reveal that the Q10 is off to a good start in the United States and is already outpacing the BlackBerry Z10’s launch. He cites the 76 million worldwide loyal BlackBerry users as the key demographic for the smartphone, adding that it “presents a strong upgrade opportunity.” Societe Generale analyst Andy Perkins issued a similar note on Thursday, suggesting sales of the BlackBerry’s new smartphones were higher than expected. The analyst upgraded BlackBerry from a “Sell” rating to a “Buy” with a target price of $17 per share.