Research In Motion Ltd. fell to the lowest level since 2003, marking four days of declines since the struggling maker of the BlackBerry smartphone forecast a first-quarter operating loss and said it had hired banks to explore strategic options.

RIM declined 5.8 percent to $9.66 a share at the close in New York, for the lowest price since Dec. 22, 2003. The stock has slumped 93 percent from its mid-2008 high of $147.55.

RIM said May 29 it will report a quarterly loss, the first since 2004 for the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and RBC Capital Markets have been hired to help RIM evaluate options, including forging partnerships, licensing its software and looking at “strategic business model alternatives,” the company said.