(By Balachander) Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM) shares were downgraded to "Sector Underperformer" from "Sector Outperformer-Speculative" and price target reduced to $8 from $20 by CIBC World Markets Inc. analyst Todd Coupland, who says the waiting game continues into 2013.
Coupland is of the view that the delay of BB10, international sales declining over $1 billion and gross margin falling over 1,000 basis points in Q1 will continue to put downward pressure on the stock for the balance of 2012.
RIM reported Q1/F13 results, with gross margin (GM) and earnings per share (EPS) coming in significantly below expectations, the analyst noted.
"The most disappointing information was that BB10 will be delayed until Q1/2013. BB10 should help if marketed right, but the share price will continue to wade in single digits until then," Coupland wrote in a note.
The analyst wrote Q1 shipments were hurt by international sales actually declining $1.1 billion quarter over quarter. GM of 28% was hurt by lower ASPs, mix and volumes.
For Q2, Coupland expects revenue of $2.7 billion (consensus $2.8 billion), shipments of 7MM (consensus 7.3MM), GM of 29 percent (consensus 35.9 percent) and loss per share of 35 cents (consensus loss of 8 cents per share).
RIMM shares plunged 18.78 percent to trade at $7.41 on the NASDAQ on Friday. On the Toronto Stock Exchange, the stock slumped 19.34 percent.