A person uses T-Mobile Blackberry on subway tracks at West 14th street and 8th avenue in New York
A person uses the T-Mobile Blackberry on subway tracks at West 14th street and 8th avenue in New York September 27, 2011. REUTERS

Shares of Research in Motion rose 2.5 percent in trade before the morning bell on Wednesday, after brokerage firm Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the shares of the BlackBerry maker.

RIM's share price has fallen more than 70 percent since touching $70 in February this year, as the smartphone maker has struggled to regain its competitive edge against Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad and a slew of devices using Google's Android software.

Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski, in a note to clients, said she was upgrading RIM to neutral from sell, as its current valuation already fairly captures the fundamental concerns surrounding the stock.

Jankowski lowered her price target on the stock to $18 from $22, partly because of the company's declining earnings trajectory.

Jankowski said the company, as a sum of its parts, is worth about $9.6 billion, consistent with the company's current market capitalization.

The Goldman upgrade comes a day after Northern Securities raised its rating on RIM's shares to a speculative buy from a sell.

Northern Securities analyst Sameet Kanade raised his price target on the company's stock to $26 from $18.

Shares of RIM rose 47 cents to $19.60 in trade before the morning bell in New York on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Frank McGurty)

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