• July 18, 2008

Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf cut his stock rating on Research in Motion to "underperform" from a previous rating of "hold," saying the company's strength in the consumer market "is bound to come under siege because of the iPhone," according to a Dow Jones article.

Prior to the iPhone's debut, Wolf said that much of RIM's success to date had come from the lack of any compelling rivals to its BlackBerry device. To combat the iPhone's consumer appeal, RIM is launching new models such as the BlackBerry Bold and the upcoming BlackBerry Thunder.

Even so, Wolf lowered his 2008 earnings estimate for RIM to $3.70 per share from $4.05 per share, and reduced his 2009 outlook to a profit of $4.80 a share from $6.25 a share.

--Mark Walsh