RIM's Bull Ride Continues

Updated from 7:51 a.m. EDT

Shares of Research in Motion (RIMM Quote) surged toward $200 on Friday, stealing a small bit of thunder from Apple's (AAPL Quote) "iDay."

RIM was recently up $27.60, or 16.7%, to $193.19.

Late Thursday, RIM reported that first-quarter net income grew to $223.2 million, or $1.17 a share, from $129.8 million, or 68 cents a share. Earnings per share figures included stock-based compensation and shattered the company's guidance and analysts' consensus estimate of $1.06 a share.

Following the numbers, both Bank of America and JMP Securities upgraded the stock on Friday.

RIM is looking for sales momentum as its girds to battle Apple's hugely anticipated iPhone, which debuts later Friday, for the market of high-end cell phones.

A slew of new Blackberry models helped boost revenue by 76.5% to $1.08 billion, topping estimates. This was the first full quarter in which the 8800 enterprise BlackBerry was available. During the quarter, RIM introduced its sleek, consumer oriented Curve and the 8830 World Edition, which works on networks in the U.S. and abroad.

The total number of subscriber accounts in the quarter jumped by approximately 1.2 million to over 9 million.

"We are starting fiscal 2008 with strong operating performance, including record revenue, earnings and subscriber results," said co-CEO Jim Balsillie in a statement. "This growth is a testament to our strong portfolio of products and services and our successful channel expansion."