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Research In Motion’s BlackBerry smartphone handsets are pictured in this illustration picture taken in Lavigny, July 21, 2012. Samsung says it has not considered buying the Canadian tech company.VALENTIN FLAURAUD/Reuters

These are some of the key analyst actions and comments on stocks today

Research In Motion Ltd. shares got a nice pop this morning in the aftermath of Apple Inc.'s victory late Friday in the patent dispute with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Apple was awarded $1.05-billion (U.S.) in damages after finding Samsung had copied important features of the iPhone and iPad. The verdict could lead to an outright ban on sales of products made by Samsung.

While clearly positive for Apple, it also may benefit RIM and Nokia, say analysts, given that the two companies also compete against Samsung.

"A slowdown in Android activity due to patent uncertainty and possible injunctions could open a window of opportunity for the coming Windows 8 and BlackBerry 10 platforms," Reuters quoted Baird Equity analyst William Power as saying in a note to clients.

"Any negative repercussions for Android could be construed as directionally positive for Nokia and RIM, though both still face an uphill battle in our judgment," he said.

Indeed, investors seem to be giving second thoughts to just how much RIM will benefit. Canadian-listed shares hit an intraday high of $7.23 this morning but have eased back a little by mid afternoon to $7.05, up 17 cents or 2.4 per cent.

That's still not all that far away from the approximate nine-year low of $6.66 it sunk to on July 20.

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Premier Gold Mines Ltd.
Premier Gold Mines, which last week released high-grade assay results for its Cove gold project in Nevada, is winning words of praise from Versant Partners analyst Rob Chang. The company not only has high-grade gold projects, it has assets in politically safe jurisdictions and in world-class gold camps often close to mining majors, he said. "We recognize the argument by some that a company with several projects would suffer from a lack of focus. While we generally hold the same opinion for many situations, we could not disagree more in the case of Premier Gold," he said.

Upside: Mr. Chang reiterated a "buy (speculative)" rating with an 11.50 price target.

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Morguard Corp.
Morguard saw a 14 per cent drop from last year in second-quarter funds from operations, but RBC Dominion Securities analyst Neil Downey still sees good value in the stock. The disappointing results were mostly due to a one-time tax hit, he explained, and he "continues to see MRC's shares as a good store of value and a means to compound net asset value over time."

Upside: Mr. Downey raised his price target by $10 to $120 and reiterated an "outperform-average risk" rating.

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Detour Gold Corp.
Analysts are feeling confident about the start-up of Detour Gold's namesake project in northern Ontario after a recent site tour. Production should begin as expected in early February, and the project is well shielded from cost inflation, with minimal construction delay and geopolical risks, said National Bank Financial analyst Steve Parsons. Added CIBC World Markets analyst Barry Cooper: "We came away from the mine tour more comfortable with the development. There are numerous indications that care had been put into its design, including the parallel grinding lines, the placement of the secondary crushers after the crushed ore stockpile and the general flow of the plant."

Upside: Both analysts have $42 price targets and outperform ratings.

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Arc Resources Ltd.
Arc Resources has closed a bought equity deal that raised $345-million, initially to be used to pay down debt. "This further strengthens ARX's capacity to maintain the monthly dividend while still investing for both near and long-term growth," commented Raymond James analyst Kristopher Zack.

Upside: Mr. Zack raised his price target by $1.50 to $23 and reiterated a "market perform" rating.

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Coastal Energy Co.
Coastal Energy has a good mix of development and exploration upside, but still trades at 92 per cent of core net asset value and 3.5 times 2013 cash flow, said CIBC World Markets analyst Ian Macqueen. "We expect a realization of value as the company executes its program," he said.

Upside: Mr. Macqueen increased his price target by $1 to $22.50 and affirmed a "sector outperformer" rating.

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