This Analyst Says BlackBerry Is 'Doomed To Fail'

Brian Blair from Rosenblatt Securities is an unabashed BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ: BBRY) bear. Rosenblatt hit BlackBerry with a $7 price target, noting that its new product line was "doomed to fail" and that the company has no "meaningful" potential for success.

Instead, Rosenblatt would like to see BlackBerry exit the hardware business altogether and focus on "software opportunities in mobile and non-mobile sectors."

In the note, Blair argued that BlackBerry suffers from a lack of direction, best characterized by its touch screen phone, the Leap. The "fatal flaw" to the Leap? It runs BlackBerry software, which customers have moved away from. While Rosenblatt saw the potential for BlackBerry to compete in emerging markets with low-cost phones, the firm said that opportunity has passed with cheaper Android devices.

Related Link: Tech Analyst Warns That BlackBerry Has 'Upper Boundary' Of $10

Instead, Rosenblatt outlined the path to success as exiting the hardware market and focusing on expanding its footprint in iOS and Android with BlackBerry Messenger. Exiting the hardware market would also enable BlackBerry to focus R&D and capitalize on IP, which shareholders would reward, Rosenblatt said.

BlackBerry reports earnings on Friday, March 27.

The stock recently traded at $9.50, about flat on the session.