Sector Snap: most handset stocks rise, RIM jumps

Handset makers' shares mostly rose Monday, with Research In Motion Ltd. leading the sector after the company unveiled the Bold _ its first major new BlackBerry model in over a year.

RIM shares rose $8.95, or 6.7 percent, to $141.72. Earlier, the stock traded at an all-time high of $142.13.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based smart phone company said Monday that the Bold, which has twice the screen resolution of RIM's current Curve device, will be sold by carriers this summer.

In the U.S., AT&T will be the exclusive carrier for the Bold as its 3G, or third-generation, network is the only one in the country compatible with the first model of the handset.

In a client note, Citi Investment Research analyst Jim Suva said the device's announcement came earlier than he expected.

He thinks the device will appeal to consumer and business users, and could raise RIM's quarterly handset shipments by between 200,000 and 400,000.

Suva, who rates the stock "Buy" with a $140 price target, also believes that since the Bold works over 3G cell phone networks _ which are popular outside the U.S. _ it will help RIM's international growth.

Shares of rival and Treo maker Palm Inc. rose 7 cents to $5.89.

Meanwhile, Apple Inc.'s shares gained $4.24 to $187.69 as Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster reiterated his expectation that the company will launch a new 3G iPhone in June and some analysts increased their target prices for the Apple's stock.

Munster said in a client note that iPhones are not available at Apple's online stores in the U.S. and U.K., and checks of 11 U.S. retail stores showed six had the product in stock.

"Given the channels are running dry of the current models (8 gigabytes and 16 gigabytes), the limited availability is one of several indications that the release of a new model is imminent," he said.

Many analysts expect such a release in the near future.

Elsewhere in the sector, shares of Motorola Inc. rose 4 cents to $9.80 while rival handset maker Nokia Corp.'s American Depositary shares fell 12 cents to $28.55.