Halftime Pt. 2 — Take Your Position: Research in Motion Ahead of Earnings

Research in Motion Limited, the maker of the BlackBerry, is scheduled to report first quarter financial results after the bell Thursday — the same day Apple released its iPhone 4, which expected to smash smartphone sales records.

There is a lot of pressure on the Canadian-based company with investors particularly eager to hear about their forward-looking guidance, says Jon Najarian of optionMONSTER.com, especially since there's a growing belief that BlackBerry sales are losing out to the iPhone and Motorola's Droid.

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  • Najarian doesn't see a lot of upside or downside speculation in the options market. In other words, he thinks traders expect RIMM to be a "dud."

    Guy Adami of Drakon Capital, however, comments that RIMM shares have slipped significantly since the company's last earnings report. He calls it a "monumental move."

    But some traders are buying RIMM, says Adami. In doing so, they are hoping the double-bottom around $55 a share holds up.

    "Apple is hitting grand slams and the rest are hitting singles," says Steve Grasso of Stuart Frankel, adding that even in a down market, Apple's stock still moves higher.

    What do you think? We want to know!

    ANALYZING ORACLE AHEAD OF EARNINGS

    Softward giant Oracle is also expected to report earnings after the close Thursday. The stock has suffered lately and in the past three months, it fell by 13%.

    Patty Edwards of Storehouse Partners says people are moving away from software and toward the Internet. That's why she likes F5 Networks .

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    CALL TO THE FLOOR: OFFICE DEPOT DROPS

    Down 42% since its April highs, Office Depot is yet another retailer in bear market territory. So does the negative performance predict more softness ahead?

    For that, we turned to CEO Steve Odland who joined us live on the Fast Money Halftime Report Thursday.

    Watch the full interview here.

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    CALL THE CLOSE

    You can "nibble at a few things," says Patty Edwards of Storehouse Partners, but do it with protection on the downside.

    Jon Najarian of optionMONSTER.com does not like how consumer stocks, especially retail names, are looking. He thinks the markets will likely push lower.

    With reports indicating that small business still aren't hiring, Steve Grasso of Stuart Frankel is a seller of the market.

    An important market tell is whether the S&P 500 can hold 1080, says Guy Adami of Drakon Capital.


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