According to research notes from Citibank and Research Capital, Research In Motion Limited (RIMM: sentiment, chart, options) could fall short of expectations when the company releases its third-quarter earnings figures later this year. The culprit: slowing subscriber growth due to software glitches with the BlackBerry Storm. As a blog posting over at Silicon Alley Insider, Verizon has postponed online shipments of the Storm until December 15, with some reports stating that software issues with the devices are complicating matters.

As such, Citigroup trimmed its third-quarter, 2008, 2009, and 2010 subscriber growth, revenue, and profit estimates. The brokerage now expects RIMM to report 2.7 million net subscriber additions this quarter, on sales of $2.85 billion and earnings of 85 cents per share - down from subscriber growth of 2.9 mill, earnings of 91 cents, and $2.96 billion in sales. Citigroup also cut its price target to $53 per share from $64, and reiterated its "hold" rating.

Elsewhere, Research Capital noted that while the Storm sold out at many stores within an hour, channel checks indicate that most stores won't be restocked until mid-to-late December. The brokerage firm speculated that RIMM could be experiencing manufacturing/distribution issues. Furthermore, RBC Capital says the delay is frustrating some customers and raises the risk of a shortfall in third-quarter subscriber growth.

After rallying as much as 6.5% earlier in the day, RIMM is clinging to positive territory in the final minutes of the session. At last check, the shares were up about 0.7%, hovering above former technical support at the 45 level.