BlackBerry Maker's Stock Value Plummets

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion's fall from grace continued on Thursday as the Canadian company's stock value continued to plummet. Now, analysts wonder if the firm, which helped pioneer the smartphone device, will be able to recover.

Times have been tough of late for Research in Motion (RIM), the Waterloo, Canada-based firm whose BlackBerry handheld device was once the darling of the smartphone market.

Besides a major outage in early October that affected users around the world, the company has seen BlackBerry sales slip steadily in recent years. Beyond that, RIM also flubbed in its attempt to release a tablet computer that could effectively compete with Apple's popular iPad.

Analyst: RIM Stock a "Wounded Puppy"

It's no surprise, then, that the company's stock is taking a beating this week. Its value plummeted nearly three per cent on Thursday to $18.37. This is actually lower than the company's book value of $18.92 a share posted at the end of last quarter.

"This is a wounded puppy," said Timothy Ghriskey, chief investment officer of New York's Solaris Group LLC.

"They've been losing business, [and] there've been operating technology problems. There isn't a lot of customer loyalty anymore." (Source: bloomberg.com)

More Setbacks for BlackBerry Maker Expected

A dip of this kind means a few things, suggest critics. First, is that analysts either don't have confidence in RIM, or don't believe it has the capacity to grow and evolve as a company.

Secondly, it could indicate that RIM is only going to suffer more setbacks in the future, meaning that some kind of a serious decline is on the horizon.

"The market, at book value, seems to be saying [that ... RIM is either not going to get bigger] in the future, but it's actually going to shrink," said Toronto-based analyst Richard Fogler, of Kingwest & Co. Fogler says he got rid of his RIM shares a while ago.

"Everyone's frightened of what's going to keep happening tomorrow."

RIM Stock Plummets 67% in 2011

The most recent stock dip is one more knock against a company whose total stock value has declined approximately 67 per cent this year alone. (Source: bloomberg.com)

But there is hope ahead. RIM still maintains a huge following and even now their smartphone devices are considered the most 'business appropriate'. If the company can release a 'must have' handheld in the next three to four months, that could go a long way to stop the bleeding. (Source: informationweek.com)