Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) Retains "Buy" Rating from Jefferies (NYSE:JEF)

Even though Research In Motion (Nasdaq:RIMM) continues to underperform, Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) continues to like them based on strong earnings and guidance.

They said "the Nov quarter often requires a greater level of channel inventories due to the Holiday selling season. Also that a great deal of RIMM recent strength has been from BBM-driven emerging market growth where carriers and distributors require higher channel inventory levels than in N. America."

Jefferies also sees a problem with those continuing to focus on the inventory of RIMM, saying Apples (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone channel inventories have increased significantly from 2.5M in CQ2 to 3.3 in CQ3.

They maintain a "Buy" rating on Research In Motion, which closed Tuesday at $58.24, down $0.24, or 0.41 percent.