RIMM Likely to Trade Below Book For Some Time, Says Cowen

Analysts continue to publish their expectations as Research In Motion (RIMM) gets set to announce fiscal Q3 results later this afternoon, after the bell, and the piling on continues.

Cowen & Co.’s Matthew Hoffman, who has an Underperform rating on the shares, this morning writes that there is “no sign of a bottom” to the breakdown of the company’s financial performance since RIM’s negative pre-announcement on December 2nd.

Hoffman thinks the shares will trail the market by 20% the next 12 months as they continue to fetch a “substantial discount to book value” based on several challenges, not all of which are even reflected yet in the stock, he thinks.� Book value was $18.92 in Q2 but tangible book was more like $14.52, he writes.

Those challenges include the transition of the BlackBerry to the BB OS 10 version; maintaining the commitment to the PlayBook tablet computer; the rise in working capital needs as a result of a build-up in inventories; and challenges to RIM’s email service.

As for tonight’s results, Hoffman sees the company producing $5.23 billion last quarter and $1.20 per share in profit, and cut his fiscal Q4 estimate to $4.64 billion in revenue and $1 per share, down from $5.28 billion and $1.10.

Previously: RIM: BGC Cuts Target To $13 On �Declining Trajectory�, December 14th, 2011.