Struggling handset makers such as RIM
and Nokia just can’t seem to catch a break. In RIM’s case, the company’s stock was downgraded to underweight — the equivalent of sell — by Morgan Stanley analysts on Monday. Bloomberg reports that Morgan Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum wrote in a note to investors today that “the only way RIM remains a viable entity is at a fraction of its current size, a transformation that erases much of its earnings power.” Gelblum also cited RIM’s “deteriorating fundamentals” as a reason to be bearish on the company’s future while also saying that the company’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system would be “likely too late and fraught with risks” to improve the company’s outlook. The first BlackBerry 10 device is scheduled to be announced this summer, likely in August.
