What happened?
BlackBerry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) stock price rose by more than 5% today to $12.87 per share at writing. The stock has seen wild moves this year due to the infamous Reddit trading mania. That’s why every big move in BlackBerry stock is enough to turn heads.
So what?
Earlier on Wednesday, the Waterloo-based tech company released a public notice acknowledging the security vulnerability in its QNX real-time operating system (RTOS). However, the company clarified that this security issue “…does not impact current or recent versions of the QNX RTOS, but rather versions dating from 2012 and earlier.” In addition, BlackBerry said that it has notified all its potentially affected customers and has released software patches to fix the security issues.
BlackBerry’s clarification on the issue came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted health care providers and equipment makers about QNX’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities. While FDA said that it “…is not aware of any confirmed adverse events related to these vulnerabilities,” it added that “These vulnerabilities may introduce risks for certain medical devices and drug manufacturing equipment.”
What now?
Overall, the ONX operating system has been one of the key growth drivers for BlackBerry for the last several years. BlackBerry’s software solutions are used in nearly 200 million vehicles today, and the ONX operating system has played a critical role in this milestone. That’s why its stock price remains sensitive to any QNX-related updates. After BlackBerry’s clarification on the security issue, analysts at Canaccord Genuity also upgraded their rating on BB stock to “hold” from “sell.” BlackBerry’s clarification and analysts’ upgrade could be two primary reasons for its stock rally today.
While the Reddit traders could be responsible for increasing its stock price volatility this year, I still find BlackBerry stock attractive due to its improving long-term growth prospects. For example, the Canadian tech firm has increased its efforts to gain from the upcoming electric and autonomous car revolution. To accelerate these efforts, BlackBerry has partnered with large tech companies like Amazon Web Services and China’s Baidu.
I expect BlackBerry’s moves to be long-term ones and drive exponential growth in its financials in the coming years. That’s why it could be a great tech stock to buy before Reddit traders take all the credit and drive it higher once again.
