BlackBerry up 5% to $8.40 on Cramer Call, Ahead of Sept 24 Earnings
BlackBerry stock gained 5% to $8.40 on Monday following a CNBC endorsement, outperforming automotive peers like Aptiv and Mobileye ahead of its September 24 quarterly report.
Key points
- BlackBerry stock rose 5% to $8.40 on Monday, outperforming the IGV software ETF and the S&P 500.
- The gain followed a positive endorsement on CNBC’s Mad Money, highlighting the company's QNX embedded software business.
- Automotive peers Aptiv and Mobileye remained largely flat, indicating the move was specific to BlackBerry rather than sector-wide.
BlackBerry Limited shares rose 5% to close the day at $8.40, a move driven by a specific television endorsement rather than broad sector momentum. The stock outperformed the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF, which gained 2%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which rose 1%, confirming the price action was isolated to the single ticker.
The catalyst was a comment on CNBC’s Mad Money, where Jim Cramer advised buying the stock ahead of its September 24 earnings release. Cramer highlighted BlackBerry’s position in the automotive and robotics software markets, a narrative that has attracted renewed attention from traders despite recent sell-offs in the broader software sector.
QNX Software Drives Automotive Value
BlackBerry’s valuation is tied to its two core software units: QNX and Secure Communications. QNX provides the embedded operating system for vehicles, medical devices, and industrial robots, representing the company's primary growth vector in the physical AI stack. The Secure Communications unit sells encrypted messaging and critical event management tools to government clients, providing a steady revenue stream from high-security contracts.
The QNX business is central to the current market interest, as it positions BlackBerry as a critical layer in the infrastructure for autonomous and connected vehicles. This focus distinguishes the company from generalist tech firms, aligning it directly with the automotive electronics supply chain.
Peers Remain Flat Despite Gains
Automotive software peers did not participate in BlackBerry’s rally. Aptiv shares edged up 1% to $44.10, while Mobileye shares rose 0.4% to $8.06. The lack of a broader sector bid indicates that Monday’s movement was specific to BlackBerry’s recent media exposure rather than a rotation into the entire automotive software group.
Mobileye’s performance is complicated by Intel’s majority ownership, which can cause its stock to move on parent-company news unrelated to automotive software. Aptiv offers a clearer comparison, as it trades on similar vehicle-electronics themes yet remained largely flat, underscoring that BlackBerry’s 5% gain was not driven by a sector-wide tailwind.
Analyst Targets Remain Widely Split
Wall Street coverage on BlackBerry remains divided, with price targets spanning a wide range. Stifel analyst Suthan Sukumar maintains a Buy rating with a $12 target, citing the company’s role in the physical AI stack. Conversely, Baird holds a Neutral rating with a $5 target, reflecting skepticism about the company’s near-term execution and revenue growth trajectory.
The September 24 earnings report will be the next major catalyst for the stock. With the current price at $8.40, the market is pricing in some optimism following the Cramer call, but the wide disparity in analyst targets suggests that the upcoming results will be required to resolve the uncertainty surrounding BlackBerry’s future growth.
