Sector Snap: Handsets

Research in Motion's shares climbed $2.78, or 2.5 percent, to $115.63 in early afternoon trading. 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, Samsung and others, driven by new products launching in the second half of this year--such as its BlackBerry Bold, Storm, Javelin and others. The analyst also thinks concerns over competition with Apple Inc.'s iPhone are "overdone."

Shares of Apple Inc. slipped $1.71 to $163.44.

Elsewhere, Motorola's shares fell 31 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $7.15. The company's shares have traded in the 52-week range of $6.62 and $19.68.

Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski and Thomas D. Lee expect weak results and guidance from the company when it reports second-quarter earnings next week, hurt by ongoing weakness in its largest business, mobile devices. Goldman does not have a rating on Motorola.

U.S.-traded shares of Nokia Corp., the world's No. 1 handset maker, slid 27 cents to $27.24. The company reported second-quarter results above expectations last week.