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‘False’ Information

Department store Selfridges and outlets of Carphone Warehouse Group Plc sold out of the Q10 quickly, Peter Misek, an analyst at Jefferies Group LLC in New York, wrote in a note Monday.

“Salespeople were well-versed on the device, and there was more apparent buzz versus the Z10 launch,” Misek said.

BlackBerry said April 12 it would ask securities regulators to investigate a report from Detwiler Fenton & Co. that its new phones have high return rates, saying that the “false” information may have been released in a deliberate attempt to manipulate its stock price.

“Whatever the motivation is, you have to use the right facts, and that’s what we’re challenging right now,” Heins said, referring to the company’s request for both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission to review the report.

Data from BlackBerry and one of its U.S. carrier partners Verizon Wireless show that Z10 returns are “completely in line” with the industry and “better than previous BlackBerry launches were, so the quality speaks for itself,” Heins said.

‘Remain Steady’

In a separate report last week, Wedge Partners said BlackBerry is probably scaling back Z10 production.

Misek, who has a buy rating on BlackBerry shares, said he saw no sign of Z10 manufacturing cuts and that “Z10 sales in Canada, the U.S. and U.K. remain steady with no inventory or return issues.”

The Q10, set to go on sale in the U.S. at the end of May, will sell through the four largest U.S. carriers for about $249 on a two-year contract. While that’s $50 more than Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5, it’s part of a strategy to target business users willing to pay more for a phone they think will boost their productivity, according to analysts including Anil Doradla at William Blair & Co. in Chicago.