RIMM Shares Rally on Same Day as Apple’s iPhone 5 Release

On the same day that Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is set to unveil its widely anticipated iPhone 5 model, one of the companies that has arguably suffered the most from that product’s huge success is rallying.

Shares of the beleaguered Blackberry maker Research-in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq: RIMM) are up about 3.3 percent just before noon (New York time).

A report in Forbes magazine cites the stock is up on rumors floating around the market that RIMM has retained an investment banker to ponder strategic options for the company.

Eric Savitz, a columnist for Forbes, wrote: “Not hard to see why investors would be keen on the idea that some white knight could come riding to the BlackBerry maker’s rescue; just who would want to buy the struggling company isn’t at all clear, though. While they do have some mobile IP, plus a large installed base of corporate users, the company has been rapidly losing market share in the Smartphone market, and they have gained little traction with the PlayBook tablet. But hope springs eternal.”

Prior to Tuesday, RIMM shares have plunged more than 29 percent year to date.

But that’s nothing compared to the beating the stock has endured over the past three years.

Since peaking at more than $144 per share in June 2008, the company’s stock has plummeted an astounding 86 percent. Even for the highly volatile tech sector, this drop is extraordinary.