Merril Lynch rates Apple as “sell”

Apple shares fell slightly in after-hours trading Monday after Merrill Lynch reinitiated its coverage on the company with a “sell” rating. According to CBS Marketwatch, Merrill analyst Steve Milunovich said that Apple appears to be dealing with a thin pipeline for new products and he expects the company to continue to lose market share. Milunovich also estimates that Apple’s December quarter sales should be $1.45 billion, or about $50 million below the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.