Blackberry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) released its first-quarter fiscal 2022 results on June 24. The stock had started hot to kick off the month of June, soaring on the back of a renewed interest in so-called "meme stocks" like GameStop (NYSE:GME) and AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC). However, its shares stumbled to finish out the month. It also suffered a post-earnings dip.
In Q1 FY2022, Blackberry saw revenue come in at $174 million – down from $206 million in the prior year. However, there were some promising takeaways for the Waterloo-based technology firm. Demand for its cyber security services has seen a boom. This is great news as the COVID-19 pandemic put a dent in global automobile demand, which had a knock-on effect for the company’s automotive software segment.
Experts have warned that the increased digitization of our economy could lead to a "cyber pandemic" going forward. Cyber attacks have increased in recent years, increasing demand to beef up security in the private and public sphere. Meanwhile, Blackberry remains a top player in the automated vehicle software space, having recently announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services in late 2020.
Despite this, Blackberry remains one of the most shorted stocks on the TSX. This is one of the reasons it has attracted attention as a "meme stock" It is down 25% over the past six months. Short squeeze attempt or not, I’m bullish on this tech stock for the long term. Now is a good time to add the stock as it had been pummeled since early June.
