Research In Motion (RIMM) shares are getting a lift today from RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky, who raised his rating on the stock to Outperform from Sector Perform. He upped his price target on the stock to $75, from $45.

Abramsky’s previous cautious view was based on worries over reduced margin visibility, execution issues and recession-related growth headwinds. But he notes that the stock has dropped 28 percent since it reported fiscal Q2 results. His new three-part thesis:

• Margin visibility is improving
• Execution is recovering
• Performance exceeding lowered expectations.

Abramsky notes that the company provided an unpleasant shock for investors late last year when it guided to a sharp drop in gross margins. But he says that with mix improving and costs coming down, hardware margins should stabilize. Meanwhile, he also says the company has addressed recent execution challenges, including product delays, quality issues and shortages.

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Apple (AAPL) shares are down sharply Monday morning after analysts at RBC Capital and Morgan Stanley cut their ratings on the stock.

RBC Capital’s Mike Abramsky cut his rating on the stock to Sector Perform from Outperform; his price target on the shares is now $140, down from $200. He cut his FY 2008 EPS estimate to $5.26, from $5.28; for 2009 he goes to $5.75 from $6.07; for FY 2010 he’s now at $7.38, down from $8.03. Abramsky says his new more cautious stance reflects “a worsening consumer spending environment.” He says a recent survey RBC conducted with research firm ChangeWave found a drop in the number of consumers intending to buy Macs: 29 percent intend to buy Mac laptops in the next 90 days, down from 34 percent in August, while 26 percent intend to buy a Mac desktop, down from 30 percent. Abramsky says that is the biggest decline in those measures in 2.5 years.

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Could Palm (PALM) post an upside surprise in its fiscal first quarter ended August?

RBC Capital’s Mike Abramsky raises that possibility in a research note this morning. Abramsky notes that in the company’s 10-K filed on Friday, Palm disclosed a Q4 backlog of $238 million, up from $185 million one year earlier, and $121 million two years earlier. He writes that past precedent finds Q1 revenues have been 1.6x-1.9x Q4 backlog. Use the lower number and you would get $413 million, or well above the current Street consensus of $324 million. Abramsky says that would imply a loss for the quarter of four cents a share, versus the Street’s estimate of a loss of 18 cents.

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Research In Motion (RIMM) shares are lower this morning heading into the company’s announcement after the close of results for its fiscal first quarter ended May. The Street consensus is for revenue of $2.27 billion and profits of 85 cents a share.

Meanwhile, RBC Capital’s Mike Abramsky asserts in a research note this morning that AT&T (T) appears likely to launch the new 3G Blackberry Bold in mid-August, two or three weeks later than expected, “as it continues to stabilize the device” on its 3G HSPA network. He reports that the launch with Rogers in Canada is on track for July, with other carriers expected to offer the phone later in August.

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Apple (AAPL) shares are getting a boost this morning from a flurry of bullish analyst commentary.

Last week, of course, the stock was under pressure from speculation about the health of CEO Steve Jobs. Today, the focus is back on the iPhone 3G, which was introduced a week ago at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

RBC Capital’s Mike Abramsky wrote this morning that he expects “massive” shipments of iPhones in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ending September. He expects the company to sell 5.1 million phones in the September quarter, and 6.5 million in the December quarter. Abramsky also says he expects rising Street iPhone estimates to boost investor sentiment.

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