BlackBerry Shares Edge Higher Amid Raised Estimates at RBC, Firm Cites 'Faster-Than-Expected Channel Fill'

RBC Capital's Mark Sue published a note Tuesday morning voicing a slightly more optimistic view on BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY). In addition to boosted unit estimates, Sue also raised his earnings and sales estimates for BlackBerry.Sue is now looking for BlackBerry 10 device shipments around 3.5 million in Q1 and around 4 million in Q2. The analyst had previously estimated units at 2.75 million for Q1 and at 3 million for Q2. Sue raised his CY13 unit estimate from 11 million to 14 million.The analyst moved his Q1 EPS and sales estimates from $(0.10) to $0.09 and from $3.1 billion to $3.5 billion, respectively. The Q2 EPS estimate was lifted from $0.04 to 0.14 and Sue's sales estimate was raised from $3 billion to $3.5 billion. Sue now sees BlackBerry reporting a profit during FY14: his EPS estimate moved from $(0.04) to $0.35. Full-year sales are now expected to be about $13.5 billion, up sharply from the prior $11.7 billion estimate.The RBC analyst cited "BB10 unit estimates on faster than expectedchannel fill of the Z10/Q10, along with the earlier than expected launch(Aug/Sept) of the entry level Q5." Sue warned, however, ". Beyond channel-fill, upgrades from diehard users and price stimulation, the picture remains blurry, particularlyas competition remains fierce and BlackBerry transitions away from itsmandatory service model."Sue reiterated a Sector Perform rating and $11-18 trading range on shares of BlackBerry.BlackBerry shares last traded at $14.44, up about 1 percent from Monday's close.