Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) stock continued its decline this week as a spate of bad news kept hitting the company after the company disappointed with weak earnings results last week. On the other hand, positive news keep coming for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and its stock gained slightly this week despite the broader market declines. The speculation about iPhone 5 gained further strength, and Apple could be holding the launch event for iPhone 5 on October 4th.^[1] For Samsung, it could be planning an aggressive legal strategy to block sales of the unannounced iPhone 5 in Korea and potentially Europe.^[2]

Here are some of the key updates from last week on these names:

RIM

RIM’s stock declined by around 11% this week as bad news continued to flow. The company released its 6-K form with SEC this week, which confirmed its deteriorating position in the U.S. market.^[3] We believe that in addition to the revenue loss, the implications for RIM from deteriorating position in the U.S. would be reduced profitability as well.

In other news, Jeffries suggested to clients that RIM’s wireless patents have a maximum liquidation value of only about $2.5 billion, or $1 billion if it continues to make smartphones.^[4] Incidentally, Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) for a valuation of $12.5 billion was about 60% above Motorola’s market price, and this premium was justified due to its rich patent portfolio so such a low value on RIM’s portfolio is disappointing.

See Data Show Further Risk to RIM’s Gross Margins and RIM Takes Further Pounding as Doubts on Patent Portfolio’s Value Surface.

See our company analysis

Apple

We believe that much of what’s driving Apple’s stock is the speculation that has picked up once again about the new iPhone as various brokerage firms have released estimates of iPhone specifications and unit sales. A report from JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) mentioned that Apple could unveil two different versions of iPhone next month.^[5] The report suggests that the iPhone 5 will be a world phone with support for both GSM and CDMA technology, and a revamped iPhone 4 will be a low cost phone specifically targeted for emerging markets.

According to a survey conducted by UBS Investment, 89% of the iPhone owners have indicated that they will stick with Apple for their next handset, followed by HTC at 39% and RIM at 33%.^[6] These findings further strengthens Apple’s position in the technology world.

Gartner projects that Apple will continue to dominate the tablet market and will be able to maintain market share of more than 50% until 2014.^[7]

See Speculation About New iPhone(s) Lifting Apple’s Stock

See our company analysis

Samsung

The intensifying turf war between Apple and Samsung continues, and if Samsung manages to win the planned injunction against the iPhone 5, it could have large implications on Apple. We believe iPhone 5 is a very important product launch from Apple’s point of view, as iPhone is the most valuable business for Apple and accounts for more than 50% of our $510 price estimate for Apple stock.

In another news, Samsung is reportedly planning to open up its own mobile operating system Bada to outside developers starting next year.^[8] However, we believe that it’s plan to make Bada open source might not be a great idea, as fragmentation is one of the key issues that face an open source OS.

See Samsung’s Plan to Make Bada Open Source is Risky

Notes: