It has been an auspicious week for Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry. On Thursday, retail company Walmart reported that it has sold out the BlackBerry Priv. Following the outpouring of sales, BlackBerry stocks surged by seven percent and closed at $7.89.

According to Yahoo Finance, BlackBerry's year-to-date stock performance it at -32.88 percent. Despite recent stock price surge, the Canada-based company had lost 4.53 percent within the last five trading days.

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Market analysts believe that the surge in BlackBerry's stock price can be attributed to Walmart's report that it has sold out the BlackBerry Priv, the company's first ever Android smartphone. Another big retail chain, Best Buy, reported on its website that it has run out of stock of the smartphone.

The BlackBerry Priv was initially released in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

BlackBerry has been struggling to keep up with the competition for quite some time already. The company is working to expand its market to various retailers throughout North America with prime focus within Canada and the United States.

BlackBerry Priv was released in early November. It marks the company's first foray into the Android market following the decline of its own hardware business.

BlackBerry is looking back at its roots with the Priv. Unlike most smartphones that are currently out in the market, the Priv sports a physical QWERTY keyboard, a feature popularized by BlackBerry.

On top of the Android platform, BlackBerry has added its own brand of software and security features into the Priv. BlackBerry claims that the Priv will appeal to people who prioritize productivity and security about all things.

According to Value Walk, BlackBerry chief executive officer John Chen has repeatedly claimed that he will make the company's hardware division profitable again or the company will completely exit the hardware business. Chen added that BlackBerry needs to sell at least 5 million smartphone units annually in order to break even.

TagsBlackberry, BlackBerry stock, Blackberry Priv, Blackberry News, BlackBerry update, BlackBerry Priv news, BlackBerry Priv sales, BlackBerry Priv sale, BlackBerry Priv feature, BlackBerry Priv specs