Analyst Sees Continued Margin Pressure at Research In Motion (RIMM)

Analysts at Piper Jaffray issued a somewhat concerning research note on Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) this morning. The report cites recent checks as indicating that December sell-in rates have improved, but also notes that mixed feedback on the BlackBerry Storm and "a record number of new product" launches could result in a steady decline in gross margins. Specifically, the firm believes that Research In Motion's gross margins could "steadily decline to below 40% during 2009."

The firm maintains its Neutral rating and $43 price target on shares of Research In Motion.

Piper's report includes checks from the following providers:

• AT&T (NYSE: T) - saw continued strong sales boosted by better-than-expected sales of the Bold and Curve.
  
• T-Mobile - sales were stable to slightly weak. Continued strong sales of the Curve and Pearl were offset by overall BlackBerry shares losses "due to the continued popularity of the HTC G1.
  
• Verizon (NYSE: VZ) - the new Storm received negative to neutral feedback "as consumers
  struggle with its touchscreen UI..." The checks also indicated return rates which remain abnormally high, but noted that complaints with software issues have improved. Specifically, store managers are indicating that many users were returning the Storm in order "to return to the more familiar qwerty keyboard UI" which comes with most other Research In Motion devices.

Shares of Research In Motion are trading about 5% higher to $44.05 today.

Research In Motion Limited engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of wireless solutions for the mobile communications market worldwide.