[Corbu]

Td:

[Bacon Munchers]

JPMorgan Chase buying BlackBerry shares.

https://technewsobserver.com/news/20...ysebb.html/amp

Thanks for the warning.
We need a delegate here that can keep us up on this because any time we have seen a dirt bag operation (like JPMC) buy shares, it has been a setup that usually resulted in dragging the SP down.

PS - usually M8 provides these tips. Anyone have an update on the young fella?

[Corbu]

No news from Morgan. Doing well, hopefully. We miss him.

[Chuck Finley69]

Thanks for the warning.
We need a delegate here that can keep us up on this because any time we have seen a dirt bag operation (like JPMC) buy shares, it has been a setup that usually resulted in dragging the SP down.

PS - usually M8 provides these tips. Anyone have an update on the young fella?

Seriously? All IBs or AMs operate in the same industry by the same rules and play the same poker.

It’s like arguing tallest midget at dwarfism symposium...

PS best wishes to M8 as well

[Corbu]

[W Hoa]

No news from Morgan. Doing well, hopefully. We miss him.

If he was about I'm sure he'd be mentioning the rise above RSI=60 and that BB has broken through the upper Bollinger Band. Hope you get to read this Morgan. Cheers.

[Corbu]

https://blogs.blackberry.com/en/2019...ting-the-world

https://blogs.blackberry.com/en/2019...dy-on-day-zero

[Bacon Munchers]

Seriously? All IBs or AMs operate in the same industry by the same rules and play the same poker.

It’s like arguing tallest midget at dwarfism symposium...

PS best wishes to M8 as well

Lol. I know, but some are just better at it than others.

Congrats to anyone who had nerves of steel to buy in the past few weeks.

[rarsen]

Weekend reading or your investment documentation files:

Charlie Munger is Warren Buffett's right-hand man — here are 18 of his most brilliant quotes
https://markets.businessinsider.com/...s-ridiculous-1

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Lol. I know, but some are just better at it than others.

Congrats to anyone who had nerves of steel to buy in the past few weeks.

I think the last few weeks has been a easy time to buy.

While I'm doubtful the stock will see $15+ anytime soon, I can see an easy 30%-40% gain from the recent low.

It's folks that were "long on BlackBerry" going back years that would need nerves of steel....

[EchoTango]

I think the last few weeks has been a easy time to buy.

While I'm doubtful the stock will see $15+ anytime soon, I can see an easy 30%-40% gain from the recent low.

It's folks that were "long on BlackBerry" going back years that would need nerves of steel....

Call me crazy but if Blackberry can only put out some decent earnings in the next few quarters, $20 would not be unreasonable in the next 12 months (of course depending on the overall market). I'm always surprised how Wall Street can reverse their historically negative perspectives by simply being successful and yes, they're that greedy and self-serving.

[dalinxz]

Going through Blackberry and/or Cylance Twitter, prospects look glimmer than ever. Seems like there's no excitement, and followers seem lackluster. Quite a dud in what was paid, their presence in the market at all seems non-existent. The company that is there seems nothing more than some web pages but no talk at all. No CMO, no market presence, absolute horror show. All you have is Chen traveling on the company Jet making it seems even less exciting. WOW!

[abwan11]

The wheels are already turning here, well don't put that pool in just yet. Nothing has happened to change anything, until you see the money ..no one's buying it.

Posted via CB10

[W Hoa]

Denso and Blackberry launch autonomous vehicle interface

Subaru will be the first to ship vehicles with the new human machine interface (HMI) platform, dubbed Denso Harmony Core.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/denso-...icle-platform/

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

Going through Blackberry and/or Cylance Twitter, prospects look glimmer than ever. Seems like there's no excitement, and followers seem lackluster. Quite a dud in what was paid, their presence in the market at all seems non-existent. The company that is there seems nothing more than some web pages but no talk at all. No CMO, no market presence, absolute horror show. All you have is Chen traveling on the company Jet making it seems even less exciting. WOW!

Scary thing, is what if BlackBerry had not bought Cylance.....

[EchoTango]

Quite a dud in what was paid, their presence in the market at all seems non-existent. The company that is there seems nothing more than some web pages but no talk at all. No CMO, no market presence, absolute horror show.

I really have to take issue with this "report" and I can only surmise the writer has no clue how corporate acquisitions are done. The process has two main phases, the company presentations and the diligence period. The presentation entails the acquiree disclosing full company details (under an NDA) which is then used to create the offer "deal sheet". The diligence period occurs subsequent to the offer acceptance, where the acquirer has a specific period of time to confirm through on-site review of facilities, internal market performance/planning documents and financial records etc. what was indicated in the presentation(s) is accurate.

To say the company is nothing more than a website with no appreciable business activity flies in the face of the diligence process purpose and calls into question the veracity of the findings. The people who do this are very well educated (typically lawyers and accountants) and experienced so the chances of this magnitude of oversight occurring is virtually impossible.

I would question the source of this information as it seems highly suspect based on the history and recent events.

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

I really have to take issue with this "report" and I can only surmise the writer has no clue how corporate acquisitions are done. The process has two main phases, the company presentations and the diligence period. The presentation entails the acquiree disclosing full company details (under an NDA) which is then used to create the offer "deal sheet". The diligence period occurs subsequent to the offer acceptance, where the acquirer has a specific period of time to confirm through on-site review of facilities, internal market performance/planning documents and financial records etc. what was indicated in the presentation(s) is accurate.

To say the company is nothing more than a website with no appreciable business activity flies in the face of the diligence process purpose and calls into question the veracity of the findings. The people who do this are very well educated (typically lawyers and accountants) and experienced so the chances of this magnitude of oversight occurring is virtually impossible.

I would question the source of this information as it seems highly suspect based on the history and recent events.

But did the diligence include Dell dropping them?

Bottom line I don't like Cylance for Cylance... I like Cylance for it's technology and what it can do for a big portion of BlackBerry's current offerings. If Cylance on it's own can also grow revenues, that would be icing on the cake.

[FeitaInc]

Scary thing, is what if BlackBerry had not bought Cylance.....

Or Good..

[abwan11]

Blackberry is a complete **** show, Chens poor approach is obvious and lack of effort is disturbing.

Zoom video conferencing,worth 30B, 10x blackberrys valuation using blackberrys tech, is one example, BBM meetings, on the other hand, has no value and the whole BBM platform is diluted to zero. What's radar alone worth in competent hands, or their hardware tech that is also diluted to nothing, Nokia got 9 billion for theirs years ago. The Market doesn't care for anything they say or do, reality says it all.

Posted via CB10

[EchoTango]

But did the diligence include Dell dropping them?

Bottom line I don't like Cylance for Cylance... I like Cylance for it's technology and what it can do for a big portion of BlackBerry's current offerings. If Cylance on it's own can also grow revenues, that would be icing on the cake.

The Dell contract would have been reviewed and added to the asset valuation. If there are terms in the agreement which allowed a "termination for convenience", the valuation would flag the asset as impaired or of marginal value. In other words, the Dell agreement would have been reviewed and given a realistic value. The fact that they left so soon after the purchase indicates this was probability known before or during diligence. I suspect Dell was somehow affected by the purchase and elected to terminate the relationship. Such are the fortunes of doing business.

I completely agree with your assessment of Cylance's medium-term value to Blackberry and have a reserved optimistic outlook on its success. However, Blackberry seems to be very able to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory with alarming regularity.

[i_plod_an_dr_void]

I'm not trained nor equipped to row in the ocean of daily, weekly and monthly blackberry weather charts, but I did note of how do we say antedotal observation you traders can reflect on in after hours banter. The 9/11 or 9.11 effect this week of the BB stock price on the TSX the morning before 9/11 The stock low on the tenth was 9.11 (because it was possible and in range i guess) interesting. Kind of an unintended or intended tribute or nod to New York, and RIM's contribution to communications on the aftermath of that horrendous event still fresh in many peoples minds.

[W Hoa]

I suspect Dell was somehow affected by the purchase and elected to terminate the relationship. Such are the fortunes of doing business.

Dell elected to use Secureworks of which it holds a majority stake.

The new Dell Safeguard and Response option with the cloud-native EDR tools from CrowdStrike leaves Dell’s current preferred endpoint protection alliance partner, Cylance, out in the cold.

Dell's Brett Hansen:

While Dell will continue to offer and support the Cylance endpoint protection software, the company will no longer promote it.

[abwan11]

Dell elected to use Secureworks of which it holds a majority stake.

Chen should have foresaw such a threat as a real possiblity. They've taken a few shots from VMware in the enterprise space before this deal happened. Again, two much time was spent mucking about years ago, dwindling down the security lead that they had.

Posted via CB10

[FeitaInc]

Blackberry is a complete **** show, Chens poor approach is obvious and lack of effort is disturbing.

Zoom video conferencing,worth 30B, 10x blackberrys valuation using blackberrys tech, is one example, BBM meetings, on the other hand, has no value and the whole BBM platform is diluted to zero.

to play the devils advocate here, have you got any references to back up that claim or is it just another "poor approach [at smearing JC & BB which] is obvious and [your repeated] lack of effort [of not just spewing out opinions] is disturbing"?

when you say that Zoom is using BB tech in the same breath as mentioning BBM, I assume you are thinking of BBM Meetings. only thing is that was a feature that was powered by Zoom.

[Corbu]

CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/14/blac...urnaround.html

BlackBerry CEO says the mobile company’s turnaround has hit a tipping point after near-death experience

Joel Dreyfuss

KEY POINTS

• BlackBerry, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, has revamped itself under Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen.
• The company that used to control 20% of the mobile phone market has pivoted to mobile network cybersecurity, crisis communications and embedded software.
• The stock topped $146 on May 1, 2008; now it trades at around $7 a share.
• Chen says he expects revenues to grow 23% to 27% in fiscal year 2020.

There was a notable absence from BlackBerry’s last quarterly report: revenue from handsets. The company that once dominated corporate mobile communications with its ubiquitous palm-size communicators and tiny keyboards has completed a 180-degree pivot to security services and software.

BlackBerry, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, has revamped itself under Executive Chairman and CEO John Chen, who was brought in to turn the company around in 2013. He is placing his bet on making BlackBerry a leader in secure mobile communications, crisis communications and embedded software — fast-growing markets totaling $22 billion. At a time when cybersecurity has moved to the forefront of concerns in both private enterprise and government, Chen believes his company has the ingredients to be a major player again.

He has a long way to go: At its peak in 2011, BlackBerry sales reached almost $20 billion, 82% from hardware sales. In the current fiscal year the goal is to top $1 billion. The stock topped $146 on May 1, 2008; now it trades at around $7 a share. After years of red ink, BlackBerry is once again cash-flow positive as it invests heavily in new technology. The challenge now is to grow rapidly in its new lines of business.

Chen is building on BlackBerry’s vaunted reputation for data security and on strategic acquisitions of the technology he needs. “The way I approach a company is to find the gem in it,” says Chen. It’s worked for him before. In 1998 he became CEO of Sybase, a database company badly trailing Oracle and Microsoft in its core business. Chen noted that Sybase’s database code was unusually compact and decided to focus where his competitors couldn’t fit — emerging mobile devices like the Palm Pilot and the Sharp Zaurus. These early devices had very limited memory; they couldn’t accommodate a 20MB database, but they could handle 100KB. Sybase’s business soared with the proliferation of handheld devices and was acquired by enterprise software giant SAP for $5.8 billion in 2010.

He’s being asked to do it all again at BlackBerry. Chen jokes that he accepted the job in a moment of weakness. He had spent a year at private-equity powerhouse Silver Lake after leaving SAP before concluding he was better suited for an operating role. “I’m a very impatient man — kinda jumpy,” he admits. “I always need to be doing something.” And like many tech leaders of his generation, he had a soft spot in his heart for BlackBerry. “It was a very iconic company, and I didn’t want to see it die.”

BlackBerry’s technology pivot

BlackBerry today is far different from the company that once controlled 20% of the mobile phone market. Its mobile network technology is considered one of the most secure and is a favorite of corporations and governments, including all seven members of the G7. It is an important player in the Internet of Things (IoT) — a boon, since Gartner says it expects to see 20 billion internet-connected things by 2020, from vending machines and jet engines to connected cars.

BlackBerry’s QNX automotive software is embedded in 150 million vehicles, where protection from hacking is a safety issue. “We managed the traffic between endpoints,” said Chen in assessing BlackBerry. “Now we have to manage the endpoints.”

With that in mind, Chen wooed and purchased Cylance, a security software start-up that uses artificial intelligence to identify and disarm threats. Founded in 2012 by McAfee alumni Stuart McClure and Ryan Permeh, Cylance was their response to an avalanche of malicious software. At McAfee they had a staff of 1,200 workers flagging 100,000 malware signatures a day, but 500,000 were coming in.

The volume of dangerous software has since expanded to 1.5 million daily. “We wanted to approach it in a different way,” said Permeh, now senior vice president and chief security architect at BlackBerry. “Let humans do what humans do well and let machines do what machines do well.”

Cylance trains machines to identify potential bad behavior — by software as well as disgruntled employees. “Before you run a program is it going to be good or bad?” For example, an employee’s access rights may be reduced if he or she is logging in from outside a company location or those rights can be completely cut off if he engages in unusual behavior. Says Permeh, Edward Snowden would not have been able to download all those secret CIA files.

BlackBerry first made contact with Cylance in 2018 at a conference in Washington, DC. Cylance had grown rapidly from a group of guys in a garage to 1,000 employees and was considering its next step: should it seek a merger, do an IPO or stay private? Permeh went to a meeting with BlackBerry still thinking of it as a mobile phone company. He didn’t believe there could be a match between a 35-year-old hardware maker and his fast-growing start-up. But eventually the two sides converged on a common interest: BlackBerry’s focus on protecting critical infrastructure and the original objective of Cylance’s founders: “We wanted to protect every device,” said Permeh. BlackBerry completed its acquisition of Cylance for $1.4 billion in cash in February of this year.

The acquisition is the biggest Chen has made in his six years at the helm of BlackBerry. (In 2016, he acquired Encription, a U.K. cybersecurity company for an undisclosed amount). From his past experience, he knows the many obstacles to shifting a company’s direction. He admits making changes at BlackBerry has not been easy. “I underappreciated the fact that I had a strong culture to overcome, because it was a hardware company and [had been] a darling of the world.”

Disconnecting from the mobile phone business

One of his first acts was to kill off several new BlackBerry phones in development. The company was losing money on every phone it made because of low volume. Chen believes you need to spend a billion dollars to make a global splash. BlackBerry didn’t have that kind of money anymore but his decision was not well-received. “It created some challenges.” Now BlackBerry brand smartphones are made by TLC Communication.

Another step was revamping a sales force accustomed to selling to telcoms. They were “farmers,” plowing the same fields over and over. Chen said he needed “hunters” who would seek out new clients for the security and IoT business. “It will take two or three quarters to see the changes,” he said.

Investors may not be so patient. When BlackBerry reported its first full quarter 2019 earning including Cylance in June, the numbers slightly exceeded expectations but the stock dropped 2% in the following weeks. Chen blames timing. Cybersecurity competitor Crowdstrike, launched its IPO on June 12. The Sunnyvale, California start-up raised $630 million in its initial offering and now has a market cap of $18 billion, five times BlackBerry’s.

There is more activity in the sector. On Aug. 22, VMWare, a Dell subsidiary, announced it was buying Carbon Black, another endpoint security player, for $2.1 billion.

Future outlook

Analysts see some big challenges ahead for BlackBerry. Rob Enderle, an independent analyst who tracks BlackBerry, believes Chen is on the right path and has saved the company. He said BlackBerry is well positioned, “given the amount of cyber threats right now against vehicles and smartphones.” But while the elimination of phone revenue may signal a total commitment to that strategy, Enderle points out revenue from phone sales will be difficult to replace. “You lose the hardware, you lose in your top line.”

Daniel Bartus, a research analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects BlackBerry to underperform in the near future. In a July 25 report, he warned that “the fundamentals are weak, with one-time licensing deals driving growth in recent quarters and the core enterprise business flat or negative year-on-year.”

Chen is more optimistic. He expects revenue to grow 23% to 27% in the current fiscal year (up from $904 million in 2019) and to steady at around 15% in subsequent years. He’s pouring money into R&D (24% of sales in 2019) and expects to introduce several major new products before next year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

He cites his large customer base and the advantage of having a broad range of products as well as an expanding sales force. “We have the ability to combine multiple technologies for our customers with AI, security technology and endpoint protection.” And there’s the other advantage of brand recognition. “BlackBerry is the name marketing people dream about.” As long as he can convince customers it’s not exactly the old BlackBerry.