Shares of Blackberry Ltd. (TSX:BB)(NASDAQ:BBRY) have traded higher in recent days on positive market sentiment around the company’s growth within the auto sector. BlackBerry’s Radar and QNX software capabilities, used for commercial trailer tracking and secure automobile software, have led to a number of bullish analyst reports in recent days, with one such analyst report citing a long-term price target of $45 by 2020.
A long-term rebound may be in the works for BlackBerry, however a $45 share price target in an official analyst report is something of an anomaly of late. Since trading at the $230 level in 2007, shares of the once-dominant smartphone maker have slipped to as low as the $6 level this past year. Shares of BBRY currently hover above the $11 level, and may continue to trend higher, should the company be able to capitalize on the opportunities expanded upon by Macquarie analyst Gus Papgeorgeiou in his recent report dated May 15.
The research note highlights the fact that "considerable risks" with investing in BlackBerry long-term still exist, however, the new focus of BlackBerry in shifting toward becoming purely a software company integrated with major car companies increases the likelihood that revenue and earnings will increase "materially" over the coming years.
Many investors who have followed BlackBerry over the years have tried to come to a number for the company’s intrinsic value, and have watched the company’s shares slide lower on continued negative results. This new wave of positive sentiment stemming from newfound growth opportunities opens up BlackBerry shareholders to the possibility of growth, finally.
