RIM shares rise after iPhone threat downplayed

Shares in the Waterloo, Ontario, company rose $2.18, or 1.9 percent, to $115.03. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $61.54 and $148.13.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky reiterated an "Outperform" recommendation on RIM's shares, and said in a note to investors that the market is underestimating the company's pending market share gains.

Abramsky expects RIM to gain global handset market share against Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and others, driven by new products launching in the second half of this year--such as its BlackBerry Bold, Storm, Javelin and others. Apple, Abramsky said, is more apt to take share from those companies rather than RIM.

Abramsky said RIM "historically has executed successfully against competitive threats," rewarding investors who look beyond any short-term concerns.

"We disagree Apple will harm RIM's franchise, and focusing on `RIM vs. Apple' in our view misses the larger opportunity both have to take share from incumbent handset players," Abramsky wrote.

Apple, which released a new version of the iPhone earlier this month, had a 19.2 percent share in U.S. smart phones, ahead of Palm, which had 13.4 percent, but far behind RIM's 44.5 percent, according to research firm IDC.