RIMM Rewarded for Results, and Sony Ericsson Deal

Investors bought up shares of wireless communications company Research in Motion at a furious pace on Tuesday. The stock added 23.5 percent to close at 69.6, blazing past its 52-week high of 48.72. On a day when volume was low on the broader markets, ahead of the holidays, volume in RIMM reached 55.1 million shares, more than twenty times times the stock’s average daily volume of 2.5 million shares.

Yesterday we reported the company’s third quarter earnings were far above estimates. Following that, five analysts, including JP Morgan and Bear Stearns, raised their rating on the stock. In addition to reporting good financial results, Research in Motion also announced very strong subscriber growth and the signing of a new license deal with Sony Erricson that will put the BlackBerry software platform on a new class of wireless devices.

Other tech stocks were among the most actives on NASDAQ. Sun gained .07 to close at $4.51 on news that it had signed a multiyear deal to sell Sun servers through Office Depot. And Intel added 2.2 percent on news that it had signed a licensing deal with PC-Tel Inc. for the exchange of wireless technology. PC-Tel Inc. rose 11.8 percent on the news to close at 9.41.