Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was downgraded on Thursday on concerns over its next year iPhone sales, according to MarketWatch. Apple shares marginally fell by 0.7% on Thursday.
Maxim Group analyst Nehal Chokshi downgraded Apple stock from “hold” to a “sell” rating. Chokshi expects Apple’s March-quarter revenue to be 14% below analysts’ consensus figures.
“We expect operating profit to decline year over year due to our below consensus iPhone view, despite ongoing growth in services and wearables," he wrote.
The firm mentioned that it expects iPhone revenue to stumble by 5% in fiscal 2020. Moreover, the analysts expect operating profit to decline by 2% year-over-year as ongoing growth in services and wearables will only partially offset iPhone declines.
Additionally, Chokshi also projects that Apple’s wearables, home, and accessory categories will also decelerate in fiscal 2021 due to rising competition from Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) acquisition of Fitbit (NYSE: FIT).
Chokshi has set a price target of USD 190 on Apple stock, representing a 30% downside from Apple’s closing price of USD 264.17 per share.
In fiscal 2020, Bloomberg MODL estimates Apple will ship 190.1 million iPhones, with an average selling price of USD 750.71.
Despite the downgrade, Apple shares are still up 66.7% this year.
0 Comments