Looking Through a Bull's Eyes

By Eric Jackson
RealMoney Contributor
12/28/2010 7:30 AM EST
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An epic debate has been raging for the last six months between the bulls and the bears on Research In Motion (RIMM - commentary - Trade Now). I am decidedly on the bear side, but I acknowledge that there are good arguments on both sides.

The debate is reflected in the variance in price targets on the company. They range from $35 to $130.

The stock is back to $58, after getting up to the low $60s in recent weeks (prior to the most recent earnings release).

That earnings call was unique because it didn't result in an instant 10% (plus or minus) move in the stock. For once, the bulls and bears found equal amounts to chew on in the results and the stock was basically flat -- though it's dropped a few percentage points since then.

I believe that anytime an investor has a strong view on a stock, they should vet it by talking with someone who sees things from the complete opposite perspective.

So, last week, I called George Papageorgiou of Scotia Capital. George is the one who has the $130 price target on Research In Motion. I asked to chat with him, making it clear that I had a short position in the company.

He got back to me right away, willing to talk, which made me like him. What I also like about him is that he's got a bold call. He's not like 85% of analysts who like to stay within 10% to 20% of a stock's price and say nothing controversial. George is letting it ride with $130.

Another positive for George is that this has been a call of his for over a year now for the stock. He's sticking to his guns here.

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What's Wrong With RIM Analysts?

By Eric Jackson12/29/10 - 08:00 AM EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Sell-side analysts on Wall Street still have a terrible reputation.

You would think that after Jack Grubman's stock-touting at Citigroup(C_) 10 years ago and all the efforts to erect "Chinese walls" between research and investment banking, that things would be better today. But, deep down, we all know they're not.

Here's one example that made me scratch my head at what's going on in the minds of Wall Street analysts.

I am short Research In Motion(RIMM_). Therefore, I listen to the company's earnings calls because I find the Q&A section of those calls the only time I can hear the unfiltered views of the co-CEO, Jim Balsillie.

Most of the time in public, Balsillie reads from prepared remarks. The Q&A is the only time I hear him think on his feet and articulate his company's strategy. (You know my position, so you know what I think of his performance at these moments.)

RIM is a fairly big company with more than 50 analysts covering it, according to Yahoo! Finance. Yet I've noticed that RIM always limits the length of its earnings calls to one hour. The call start at 5 p.m., and RIM reminds everyone that the call will end at 6 p.m. Sometimes this leaves 40 minutes for Q&A and sometimes this leaves only 15 minutes -- it all depends on how long prepared remarks are.

What has surprised me about the Q&A session is that, despite the 50-plus analysts covering the company, the same people keep getting called upon to ask questions during this short window.

My first thought was that the fix must be in. I assumed Balsillie was going back to his buddies to give them access. These buddies -- I assumed -- had large price targets on the stock. I assumed the more critical analysts weren't getting called upon.

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