Apple suffered its second sharp drop in stock prices this week on Thursday as concerns grew on Wall Street about sluggish demand for its flagship iPhone.
Piper Sandler & Company lowered its rating on Apple stock from “overweight” to “neutral” on Thursday.
The company's analysts, who have been bullish on Apple since March 2020, pointed to concerns about the deterioration of China's economic environment. reported by bloomberg.
“We are concerned about device inventory,” analyst Harsh Kumar said in a note to clients. “The growth rate of unit sales has reached its peak.''
Kumar also pointed to other signs of trouble, including a ban on sales of the latest Apple Watch models due to alleged patent infringement. market watch.
Apple shares fell more than 1% in intraday trading Thursday to $182.23.
Despite the downgrade, Piper Sandler still has a $205 price target for Apple stock.
Overall, Apple stock has fallen more than 5% since the beginning of the year.
The drop in stock prices wiped about $155 billion from the tech giant's valuation, according to Bloomberg.
The downgrade comes just two days after Barclays analysts reclassified Apple stock from “neutral” to “underweight” and lowered their price target for the company's stock to $160 from the previous target of $161. Ta.
Barclays analysts said sales research showed slowing iPhone demand in China and other developed markets.
“We remain negative on iPhone 15 unit sales and mix, and we don't see any features or upgrades that could make iPhone 16 more attractive,” Barclays analysts said.
Although Apple is increasingly focusing on software services such as the Apple TV+ streaming platform to drive revenue, the company still relies heavily on the iPhone and other hardware to drive sales.
Overall, the percentage of analysts with a bullish rating on Apple stock has reached its lowest level in three years, according to Bloomberg data.
The market expects Apple's sales growth rate to remain at 3.6% in fiscal 2024.
Wall Street's attitude toward Apple has worsened even after the company's stock rose nearly 50% last year amid a rally in the broader technology sector. The Cupertino, California-based company briefly became the first company in history to reach a valuation of $3 trillion.
