Research in Motion Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Heins is silhouetted during the BlackBerry World event in Orlando in this May 1, 2012 file photo.DAVID MANNING/Reuters
Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. dipped below the $10 mark on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday afternoon for the first time since November 2003.
At 1:34 ET time the stock hit $9.99. The BlackBerry maker's stock is down 32 per cent this year and 74 per cent over the last 12 months. The shares today trade at a little more than just four times earnings.
The last time RIM shares traded at this price, the upstart company had quarterly earnings of just $16.3-million (U.S.) on sales of only $153.9-million. In comparison, in its most recent quarter, RIM reported profit of $1.2-billion on sales of $18.4-billion.
RIM shares traded at $14.13 at the start of May and began to decline more rapidly after the company said it expected to post a first-quarter operating loss on June 28. RIM also announced that it has hired two investment banks to assist it in a strategic review -- a sign that it may be willing to sell assets, such as its hardware business or patent portfolio. It's also widely thought that the company is gearing up for additional layoffs.
RIM went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in October 1997 and listed in the U.S. on the Nasdaq market in February 1999. The shares broke through the $10 barrier earlier in the day on the Nasdaq market, trading recently at $9.63, down 6 per cent from Friday's close.