Analysts Say BlackBerry 'Still In The Woods,' Stock Up Anyway

BlackBerry BBRY gained nine percent after opening sharply higher Friday when it posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss.

Despite BlackBerry's relatively rosy first-quarter revenue of $966 million and an adjusted loss of $0.11 per share, analysts were largely unmoved.

But Credit Suisse's K. Garcha "remains doubtful" that the once high-flying company can compete with the smartphone market. "We see limited upside," Garcha said in a note, maintaining an Underperform rating and a $6 target.

For Blackberry to see an actual turnaround, growth in services "remains a critical metric" for an actual turnaround, CIBC's Todd Coupland said in a note which raised a price target to $6.25, from $5.

The company is "not out of the woods" said Deutsche Bank's Brian Modoff, maintaining a Hold, but raising his target to $8, from $6.

"The bottom line is, this can be a successful company," Modoff said in a note. "But what size will the final company be? We argue it could be much smaller."

JP Morgan's Rod Hall reiterated a Neutral rating and said long-term uncertainties persist despite a good recent quarter.

Likewise Nomura's Stuart Jeffrey maintained a Hold and raised his price target to $10 from $9. "It was a good quarter but recovery is still far away," Jeffrey said in a note.

Shares traded recently at $9.77 up 7.4 percent.