Market Preview: Stocks Losing Luster

The stock has languished throughout 2012, plunging nearly 70% in the past year and hitting a 52-week low of $6.22 on Monday. Shares enjoyed a bounce of 6%-plus during Wednesday's regular session after Goldman Sachs boosted its revenue view but the company's predicament still looks pretty grim as it deals with stiff competition from Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 5 and the plethora of smartphones powered by Google's Android operating system.

One of the many big question marks hanging over the company is when the BlackBerry 10 will actually arrive. Back in late June, the company said it's targeting the first quarter of calendar 2013 and backing off that already-delayed goal would be a disaster. Wall Street will also be looking for an update on the extent of the layoffs the company is undertaking.

The sell side is overwhelmingly pessimistic about the stock with just 2 of the 47 analysts covering RIM at buy and rest split between hold (28), undperform (11) and sell (6). The median 12-month price target sits at $8.

Still, Sterne Agee, which has a neutral rating on RIM shares, is expecting a loss of 29 cents a share in the quarter, narrower than the consensus view.

"For the first time in a while, we believe consensus estimates may be adequately pessimistic looking for a sizable Y/Y decline in revenue and a big operating loss," wrote analyst Shawn Wu. "With low expectations, we believe there is a fair chance that the company may meet or even slightly beat. However, it may not matter as we think most important will be its cash balance and downsizing plans that hopefully won't put too much cash strain."

Check out TheStreet's quote page for Research In Motion for year-to-date share performance, analyst ratings, earnings estimates and much more.

Nike (NKE) is also due to report its numbers with the release of the sneaker giant's fiscal first-quarter results due before the opening bell. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for a profit of $1.12 a share on revenue of $6.42 billion.

The stock has gained more than 20% over the past year but has lost roughly 16% since hitting a 52-week high of $114.81 on May 3.

« First ‹ Previous 1 2 3 Next › Last »