Tech Rumor of the Day: RIM

Updated from 12:17 p.m. EDT

Everyone loves a winner, and sometimes too much.

Research In Motion (RIMM Quote) has been a darling of the smartphone scene. And the cult following for its BlackBerry devices has now grown beyond its power-user niche to lacrosse moms and beach bums.

The stock is up 90% this year as investors view RIM, along with Apple (AAPL Quote) and now Palm (PALM Quote), as the vanguard of the smarter mobile phone industry.

But investors are wondering whether RIM is riding a resilient trend, or merely perched on a bubble.

RIM shares took a brief hit Wednesday, opening 4% down on no particular bit of news. Analysts were at a loss to explain the fall. The drop would look even odder if the Nasdaq weren't down 3% also at the time.

Part of the market anxiety can be attributed to RIM's upcoming earnings report Thursday after the bell. Most analysts have been steadily adjusting their estimates up ahead of the report factoring in the fair winds of the smartphone segment's growth prospects.

Analysts are looking for an adjusted profit of 94 cents a share, according to a Thomson Reuters tally. That number has crept up 11 cents in the past three months as RIM guided above consensus in April with a 89 cent price target for the May quarter.

That is the Wall Street consensus, however, but not necessarily the number to beat. For that, you need the so-called whisper number, from, where else, whispernumber.com. In a survey of 12 investors, the site puts the earnings consensus whisper number at 96 cents a share.