UPDATE: BlackBerry Upgraded Ahead of Earnings; Analyst Gives Q4 Predictions

Cormark Securities on Monday upgraded shares of BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) from Market Perform to Speculative Buy. The upgrade comes ahead of the company's fourth quarter earnings release Friday, March 28, before market open.

Analyst Richard Tse is forecasting a “decline in the core business” and is looking for “revenue of $0.9 billion (consensus $1.1 billion), EPS of -$0.78 (consensus -$0.53), and handsets of 1.8 million (consensus 1.8 million).”

Tse's believes “newsflow and non-operating changes (like strengthening the balance sheet) will continue to drive the positive sentiment” that has pushed the stock up 23 percent in 2014.

Tse has an $11.50 price target on the stock, 25 percent above current levels.

Shares of Blackberry are down 0.42 percent to $9.14 in Monday's trading.