The bank's capital markets arm has raised its price target for the Canadian smartphone maker's stock to US$17, up from CIBC's previous estimate of US$8 per share.
CIBC has also RIM stock a "sector outperform" rating, an improvement from the "sector underperform" rating it has had due to skepticism about RIM's ability to come out with a new generation of products that will beat back the competition.
Research In Motion shares closed Friday at C$11.61 in Toronto and at US$11.66 on the Nasdaq market.
A morning note from CIBC World Market analyst Todd Coupland says he thinks RIM's stock is "materially undervalued."
He points to the base of existing subscribers to BlackBerry smartphones as a source of strength for the company.
There have been several similar upgrades ahead of RIM's launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system that's scheduled to be launched Jan. 30.
CIBC's revised price target is $2 above an estimate last week from National Bank Financial.
The BB10 devices are seen as a make-or-break development for the Waterloo, Ont.-based company as it competes against Apple's iPhones, devices using Google's Android operating system and a refreshed Microsoft smartphone system.
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