It would be safe to think that a cybersecurity stock like BlackBerry (TSE:BB) would be on the rise in the event of an increase of malware attacks. That means there is a greater demand for its product line. But the news did indeed hurt BlackBerry, as the rise of unique malware attacks it discovered translated to a nearly 2% loss in shares for BlackBerry in Wednesday morning’s trading.
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The latest Quarterly Global Threat Intelligence Report from BlackBerry revealed that new malware is up 53%, as encountered by its lineup of AI-driven cybersecurity tools. That means BlackBerry systems have taken on 43,500 attacks per day, roughly, for a grand total of 3.7 million attacks between April and June.
That means an 18% jump in overall attacks from the previous period, and that is among the highest jumps that BlackBerry has ever spotted. Where are those attacks most focused? Critical infrastructure, is the downright frightening answer, as over 800,000 attacks took on that sector. Of them, around 400,000 targeted the financial sector directly, up 25% against the previous report.
Earnings Coming Up
So we know that BlackBerry’s product line should be in increasing demand. With malware clearly on the rise, cybersecurity tools should also be in play. And that should mean good things for its sales of cybersecurity products. With its second quarter earnings report due out tomorrow, though, things are not looking great for the short-term.
Early reports from Zacks are looking for a loss of C$0.03 per share, which is where it has been for the last 60 days. TipRanks data, meanwhile, is looking for a loss of C$0.04 per share. But BlackBerry has products beyond cybersecurity, including its automotive operations, which at last report were experiencing decent demand levels overall.
Is BlackBerry Stock a Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSE:BB stock based on one Buy and five Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 51.06% loss in its share price over the past year, the average TSE:BB price target of C$4.40 per share implies 36.36% upside potential.
