Research In Motion Ltd

Apple Hits Technical Snag

Some observers pointed out this week that the stock recently fell below its 200-day moving average – due largely to its 11.5 percent slump since mid-February – after spending 551 days in a row above that technical level.

“When a stock is above its 200-day, it is thought to be in a long-term uptrend, and it is thought to be in a long-term downtrend when it is below its 200-day,” said Bespoke Investment Group , on a blog post that noted Apple’s technical dip.

In the case of Apple, the last time it fell below its 200-day moving average was in September, 2008. The stock then fell another 52 percent before its fortunes began to turn.

Admittedly, the broader market was also spiralling downward back then, due to the financial crisis. Still, technical analyst Jim Stellakis of Technical Alpha believes that Apple is at risk of falling 14 percent to $280 should the stock close below $325, according to Bloomberg News. On Friday afternoon, the stock was down to $321-and-change.

“Investors’ attitude towards the stock is change, in a negative way,” he told Bloomberg.

That view certainly stands in contrast to most observations on the stock. According to Bloomberg, 48 analysts who follow the stock have a “buy” recommendation on it. No analysts have a “sell” recommendation and just four recommend it as a “hold.”

For what it’s worth, RIM fell below its 200-day moving average the day that it cut its fiscal first quarter earnings guidance at the end of April. It has fallen 50 percent since then.

Disclosure: None

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.'s quarterly · tiffangjewelry

Tiffany rings sale BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd.'s quarterly results on Thursday provided fresh evidence of the company's struggles to come up with a device to compete with the iPhone and smartphones running Google's Android operating system. The Waterloo, Ontario, company reported a nearly 10 percent drop in its fiscal first-quarter net income. RIM also said it has been hurt by product delays, announced layoffs and warned that its profit for the current quarter and full fiscal year would come in well below Wall Street's expectations. It was the second time this year the company has pared back its profit outlook. Its stock fell more than 14 percent in extended trading. “The existing portfolio of BlackBerry products has been in market for close to a year, and delivering new products has proven more challenging than anticipated,” RIM Co-CEO Jim Balsillie said on a conference call with analysts. The announcements are the latest signs of trouble for RIM. The company dominated the corporate smartphone market and has sought to expand its appeal to consumers, but has recently had trouble with consumers because the phones aren't perceived to be as sexy as its chief competitors. tiffany earrings silver heart

tiffany bracelet heart BlackBerrys are known for their security and reliability as email devices, but they haven't kept pace with Apple Inc.'s iPhones or phones based on Google Inc.'s Android software when it comes to running third-party applications. Balsillie also acknowledged that the April launch of the company's tablet computer could have gone better. RIM got poor reviews on the Playbook and about 1,000 of the devices had to be recalled because of defective software. The company said it shipped about 500,000 of the tablets in its fiscal first quarter. “The PlayBook launch did not go as smoothly as we had planned,” he said. Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis made a rare appearance on the conference call as the two defended the business and their role as co-CEOs. RIM has an unusual leadership structure, where two executives, Balsillie and Lazaridis, serve as both co-CEOs and co-chairmen. Dissident shareholders are calling for RIM to separate the roles of CEO and chairman. Some industry analysts believe RIM is following the same trajectory as Finish handset maker Nokia, which last month warned that its second-quarter sales and margins are expected to be much lower than anticipated because of the competition on devices in both the high- and low-end market. “We have a strong business,” Lazaridis said. “We have made major platform upgrades, and we are almost through this transition.

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