Research In Motion Limited (RIMM: sentiment, chart, options) has been smacked with several price-target cuts today, in the wake of another slashed market outlook from handset maker Nokia (NOK) and a similarly bleak forecast from research firm Gartner. Starting with Nokia, the Finnish firm issued its second warning in 3 weeks regarding a slowdown in mobile-phone sales. The company now expects fourth-quarter volumes to fall below the already-reduced 330 million units it predicted on November 14. Additionally, Nokia said 2009 volumes will decline 5% or more from this year's levels.

In a separate report, Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza asserted today that "Going forward, we should expect the smartphone device market to continue to grow but at a slower pace." Third-quarter smartphone unit sales rose 11.5% from the year-ago period, marking a notable slowdown from the 15.7% year-over-year sales growth in the second quarter. Cozza observed that many contracts and monthly plan rates tied to smartphones remain unaffordable for the average consumer.

Today's cautious notes come on the heels of a warning from RIMM itself yesterday, wherein the Canadian firm trimmed its third-quarter profit and sales estimates. In response, analysts are cutting their own expectations for the BlackBerry maker. This morning, Paradigm dropped its price target on the shares from C$190 to C$85, and TD slashed its price target from $140 to $75. On Wednesday, Scotia reduced its price target from C$160 to C$105, while RBC lowered its price target from $65 to $45 and GMP cut its price target from $124 to $80.

In early trading, RIMM shares are down more than 1% at $38.46. There's ample opportunity for more price-target cuts during the short term, as Thomson Financial pegs the average 12-month price target at $106.65. Downgrades are also a possibility, with Zacks reporting 16 "strong buys" and 3 "buy" ratings, compared to just 9 "holds" and 1 "strong sell."