BlackBerry (BBRY) stock was left for dead in 2013, bottoming at under $6 a share. And after a brief rebound rally through early 2014, BBRY stock once again hit some trouble and sunk back to $7 or so.
But now, BlackBerry stock is sitting pretty at more than $10 a share after a roughly 40% run in the past month or so. Longer-term, BBRY stock is actually up more than 30% year-to-date in 2014 to deliver almost five times the return of the S&P 500.
Which begs the question: Is BlackBerry back?
Hardly.
The long-term pressures on the smartphone company still remain, and BBRY remains deeply unprofitable.
But if you’re looking for a swing trade on momentum and sentiment, BlackBerry stock actually looks pretty good in the short term after its big run.
Here’s why:
BBRY Reorganization Buys Time: When Thorsten Heins was ousted as CEO at the end of last year amid a failed rescue plan, Chief Executive John Chen took over and since has been pushing BlackBerry to transform from a gadget manufacturer into a mobile solutions and software company. All the buzz over messaging software like WhatsApp and Snapchat also has helped return a bit of swagger to BlackBerry thanks to its respected BlackBerry Messenger secure messaging platform.
BlackBerry Earnings Pick Up: Though still operating in the red, BlackBerry released earnings in June that showed improvement and signs of stabilizing. BBRY still is burning cash, of course, but has a cushion of more than $2.6 billion in cash and short-term investments as of last quarter’s results to buy it some time.
Charts Looking Good: As InvestorPlace’ Head Trader & Strategist Serge Berger pointed out a few months ago, the technicals are looking quite good for BBRY — and if the stock can plow through resistance in the $10.60-$10.70 range, it could be headed for a trip into the $12-$13 range. Serge recently reviewed the charts again and reinforced that outlook on BlackBerry stock.
Jeff Reeves is the editor of InvestorPlace.com and the author of The Frugal Investor’s Guide to Finding Great Stocks. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Write him at editor@investorplace.com or follow him on Twitter at @JeffReevesIP.
