Cult stock Research In Motion has so far lived up to its dot-com hype, but economic turmoil could slow the Blackberry maker's surging business.   Bear Stearns (nyse: BSC  ) analyst Andrew J. Neff said that economic trends could throttle Research in Motion (nasdaq: RIMM )'s sales. Neff downgraded the company's shares to "peer perform" from "outperform" on Tuesday. Shares of Research In Motion Limited were flat, holding at Friday's close of $85.42.

Neff explained that Research could be hit by an economic slowdown because of its heavy exposure to large business customers. Enterprise customers account for 75% to 80% of the company's sales. Research In Motion is particularly exposed to the financial sector, which accounts for nearly 40% of its sales.

Increased defaults in home mortgages, a soft housing market, and a contraction on corporate financing have raised worries that the problems could seep into the broader economy and slam economic growth. Fear of spreading fallout has helped push the Dow Jones industrial average down 2.3% over the past three months.

Research In Motion, a wireless communications provider, makes the popular Blackberry handsets. Sales have boomed the past year as phone users turn to models with more functions, like Web and e-mail access. Research In Motion announced in June that its first quarter profit jumped 73% from a year ago.

Research was founded in 1984 and struggled to grow sales during its early years. It developed a cult following by the late 1990s, however, because of its novel offerings. While most cult stocks fail to live up to starry expectations, Research has joined a select group of companies like Urban Outfitters (nasdaq: URBN ) and Energy Conversion Devices (nasdaq: ENER  ) by living up to its hype.

Neff also said that Research In Motion could lose sales to Apple (nasdaq: AAPL). "While Research In Motion does not directly compete with iPhone currently, iPhone could emerge as a meaningful competitor as it expands its product line to include a low-end phone and adds enterprise email support," said Neff.

Research In Motion also faces competition from Palm, (nasdaq: PALM), which makes the Treo smart phone. Shares of Palm gained 24 cents, or 1.6%, to $15.25, on Tuesday.